Reb Eliezer:
Our problem today is a bit different. Today, the parents of the yungerleit that we are proposing to sit in kollel are themselves products of this system. If they have become baalei parnosoh, they have likely not reached the level at which they can do that much to support their sons or sons-in-law.
You suggest testing a yungerman on something in learning to determine if he is fit. You seem to buy into the knowledge aspect of learning. That is certainly an important part of it. Far more important is the hasmodoh, where time is managed in a manner that reflects the dedication to learning Torah, and the implementation of the midos that make it obvious that the yungerman is a talmid chochom. The ability alone of being able to pass a test of data is far too little to make one a candidate to shteig at someone else’s expense, while delaying his own mitzvah to be mefarnes his family.
yitzchokm:
Kollel as a concept existed long ago. It had not been done in America until Rav Aharon Kotler. The institution of kollel in America was initiated by him.