That's unfortunate, mistake, I wonder?
These educational promotions have led to abuse through the years, anyone that said they ever went to school could purchase a Apple product at a discount. I was eligible to buy software because I gave instruction to seniors citizen in their homes so I know how loose the program was.
I would imagine Apple would also have a hard time controlling third party venders, if the option was extended to say......... Best Buy?
I also suspect that the media coverage of a $900.00 iMac was beneficial in the price wars, Loss Leaders depend on after market sales to make a profit. If Apple was selling a lot of extra hardware and software as a result of this promotion, they most likely would have continued it.