Creativity is not hampered by a rigorous, well-designed curriculum. Just look at the Florentine artists, who trained hard at their art under their masters, then produced creative masterpieces themselves. Creativity is hampered by lack of skill (a problem for Western kids who aren't taught math well) and by social pressure to conform to expectations, do as you're told, and not question your superiors (a problem rife in Asian cultures and classrooms).

You can combine a well-designed, coherent curriculum for skill training without imposing the crushing baggage of "your worth as a human being depends on the brand prestige of the university you get into."