It is not parental pressure but when the university seats are kept so scarce like precious commodity the competition is so fierce. Just gaining admission to 4 year university is hard. From age 11 until age 17 of your high school years it is a mad dash to glorious university entrance for everyone. 

I still think you are rushing to a judgement based on your logical thinking without having experienced what you are envisioning as a solution. The Japanese writer Haruki Murakami's book Norwegian Wood depicts the psychological malaise of young adults dealing with pressure (not just parental but cultural pressure to be fit to a standard) along with internalized suicide ideation and recovery from it. The reason this book was hugely popular in Japan has to do with the kind of resonance this book had with Japanese populace.