Speaking from the UK: Yes and no.

After 14 years of Tory scum in charge, arts education in schools is on its arse, because it doesn’t provide workers to grind into a paste once they’ve left education. Indeed, most schools are struggling like fuck because funding kept getting cut while more was being required of them.

As a whole education here is seen as a civic duty to ensure our kids are well-equipped for life in the workforce, but the scope of the education isn’t limited to just what they’d need for that, even if the central focus is.