Try asking the average western student the same question. Most people -be they young or old- aren't able to do that. Nor is that a skill you actually need in real life.

You should also think about if it's more important (to the people you're telling that message) to get a good wage or if they're fine taking a few years to catch up.

"Understanding" concepts is great and all, but unless they're doing that additionally to training the simple application, they'll most likely start having issues once the tests are up.

Having good grades (and being able to prove their ability on the spot) is definitely correlated with good starting wages. Not so much later on, but it's a massive difference at the start.