Boys have taken all the top ten ranks in the engineering entrance examination conducted by the Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education this year, possibly the first such occasion in the Common Entrance Test.

APSCHE Chairman Hemachandra Reddy called it a “sheer coincidence,” adding it was a rare occurrence.

Education Minister Botsa Satyanarayana released the results of the AP Engineering, Agriculture and Medical Common Entrance Test (AP EAMCET-2022) on Tuesday.

Of the 1,94,752 students who appeared for the engineering entrance test, 1,73,572 (89.12 per cent) have qualified.

In agriculture and pharmacy streams, 83,411 of the 87,744 (95.06 per cent) students who took the test have qualified, the Minister said.

“In all, 2,82,496 students appeared for the EAPCET this year. Of them, 2,56,983 have qualified, with 40 out of 160 being the qualifying mark for OC and BC students. All SC and ST students stood qualified on mere appearance in the exam,” Botsa added.

The Education Minister said no weightage has been given this time for Intermediate marks in EAPCET since the first year students were declared as passed without exam due to Covid-19 last year.

He said a total of 1,48,283 seats were available in 258 engineering colleges, including private, in the state. “That leaves a shortfall of 25,289 seats as the number of qualified students is higher,” Botsa noted.

Dates for admission counselling would be announced later as traditionally it was done after completion of admissions in IITs and National Institutes of Technology.

Botsa said 35 per cent of the total available seats would be filled under government quota, wherein the students’ fee would be reimbursed.

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