Uh...not always. Regarding music, many primary schools (this refers to my area, by the way, and may not be a good indicactor over larger regions) learn music as a subject, and here we have a program where children get the opportunity to learn an instrument if they are doing well in music and enthusiastic about it. And as for high school...I go to an acemdemic school, but we have quite a good music program. While not everyone is an amazing singer, we are mostly tuneful, and it's not really anything special unless you're really good.
What year does this refer to?