Is schooling compatible with lifelong learning?

I keep hearing people talk about the value of lifelong learning. Meanwhile, we are forcing citizens from a young age through government-run facilities that destroy the natural desire to learn. Personally, I find these two concepts to be contradictory.

In some ways, it seems like the concept of lifelong learning is instead really pushing the concept of lifelong educational dependence. If you want to learn, you have to go to school. To continue learning, you have to keep finding a way to take additional classes. If you're not in school, don't learn.

As far as I'm concerned, destroying the natural desire to learn and discouraging uncontrolled learning is completely incompatible with lifelong learning. In fact, I don't understand how so many people embrace both of these contradictory views. If you understand why lifelong learning requires that people don’t want to learn let me know. Similarly, let me know if you understand why telling people that they can't learn outside of a restrictive schooling environment is necessary for lifelong learning.