The Play it Strange charitable trust, run by former Split Enz musician Mike Chunn, has joined the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) to accredit pupils for their musical work out of school time.
Mr Chunn said NZQA's endorsement of the programme was "ground-breaking" and would help push New Zealand music towards the "revered" status of sport.
Many parents were more inclined to let their child enhance their sporting skills than tinker away on a guitar writing a song, Mr Chunn said.
The result was an undernourished music scene, and a system that was starving youth of their imaginations.
When Mr Chunn asked a class of primary school pupils how many thought they could write a song, most raised their hands.
He said Play it Strange was about trying to reverse the "almost subliminal decline of the imagination".
The trust, which has been running since 2003, encourages high school pupils to submit their songs to be judged by top New Zealand artists, such as Jordan Luck of The Exponents.
The top 40 are selected for an annual CD.
The organisation also holds a Band of Strangers concert, in which high school pupils perform alongside some favourite New Zealand artists.
Under the arrangement with NZQA, pupils who participate in the concert or song-writing competitions are able to be assessed by experienced music teachers and an NZQA moderator to obtain credits towards their final NCEA grade.
NZQA deputy chief executive Bali Haque said this was not the first time pupils had been able to gain credits through extracurricular activities.
Hospitality students have after-school workplace assessment, outdoor education standards have been granted through activities at school camps and pupils can also gain credits for kapa haka.
