As someone who has interviewed applicants in Africa, I would double down on this. There are certain universities that may signal quality (e.g. University of Cape Town), but a lot of universities seem to have graduates that do well in spite of them.
I have lost track of the number of candidates I interviewed (and voted to hire!) who couldn't answer questions about their completed coursework, but could give in depth rundowns of the inner workings of something like embedded system software because of their extra curricular work.
After a while, I could notice trends from universities that were actually teaching their students incorrect information, providing the negative dividends you were talking about.
It's sad and frustrating. In an African context I think you're spot on that self taught candidates have often used their time more effectively.
I have lost track of the number of candidates I interviewed (and voted to hire!) who couldn't answer questions about their completed coursework, but could give in depth rundowns of the inner workings of something like embedded system software because of their extra curricular work.
After a while, I could notice trends from universities that were actually teaching their students incorrect information, providing the negative dividends you were talking about.
It's sad and frustrating. In an African context I think you're spot on that self taught candidates have often used their time more effectively.