Strong, decentralized maths education. Maths and physics were emphasized, so there are plenty of free schools specializing on maths and physics, teaching both a

Strong, decentralized maths education. Maths and physics were emphasized, so there are plenty of free schools specializing on maths and physics, teaching both at a very high standard. In these schools, the focus is on the best students and those that can't keep up are allowed to drop out. The incentive of entering these schools is that entrance exams to the best tech universities (free) are extremely competitive. And if you don't enter a tech university, not only are you likely to struggle to find a paying job afterwards, but if you are not a student you will be conscripted into the army, which nobody wants. Maths olympiads are fairly popular, so teachers are encouraged to try to identify talented students and have them study maths/physics at a higher level than their peers. Now, why does the West appear not to produce as many good programmers? Soft skills seem to be valued more; strong humanities education is traditionally seen as prestigious/lucrative; culturally, those interested in maths/computers are seen in a negative light; sports and extroversion are overemphasized; centralized school-leaving exams perhaps put more focus on rote learning than deep understanding.