An interesting take and, yes, in the west it is hard to instill in a student that it is up to them to earn their way to success by making the maximum use of the teaching resources and not to sit back and get fed what they need.

In poorer countries, this is better understood, especially since many people do not go to school so the alternative to working hard is plain to see.

Not sure how you fix it though, perhaps some out of the box ideas to reward those that work hard in a way that reinforces that hard works pays off. I don't know.