Tbilisi has several institutes of higher reaming, including the Polytechnic University and the Art Academy, which I visited. The Polytechnic University is large and its variety of technical studies is similar to those at Georgia Tech. The Art Academy is smaller and more selective, emphasizing creativity and artistic ability. Its graduates become leading artists and architects of Tbilisi. The curriculum of both schools is inflexible and time-consuming.
Students follow an exact schedule of classes until they graduate.
English is a popular major with young women, but students of other disciplines must attend lessons given by private tutors to learn foreign languages. They take no physical education courses, but the men frequently participate in organized sport clubs. Students attend lectures every day except Sunday, and arrive for their classes at 8 o'clock each morning. Many stay until after 5 p.m. At the Art Academy, the architectural students leave early, but only because there is no space for them to work at the college.