this post has highlighted an immigration problem not only in Thailand but maybe in another part under-development country
Of course, there are other ways to get a long stay visa in a country but a student visa seems to be one of the most convenient and easy to get alternative.
However, having said that, this change of immigration law has inconvenience to many people who are not able to get a long-stay visa but genuinely wanted to do a decent and legal job in Thailand. I empathize with you if you are one of the affected people.
You and I know that not all the cases are a legitimate application for the purpose of study abroad but for their own personal agenda. If this is the case, it is a matter of time more people make use of this path to get the long-stay visa.
If one is not a 100% legitimate student, then one should not complain about the changes to the immigration policy as the authority is to their job to strengthen the law.