Boys continue to rank high at the Kerala Engineering entrance exam, bag 7 out of top 10 ranks   

A total of 47,629 students — 24,143 girls and 23,486 boys — qualified for admission to Engineering courses in the state. Higher Education Minister R Bindu released the Engineering rank list along with the rank list for admission to Pharmacy and Architecture courses. Of the first ten ranks in the Engineering entrance exam, seven were bagged by boys. While Faiz Hashim from Thrissur bagged the first rank, Harishankar M from Kottayam and Nayan Kishore Nair from Kollam came in second and third respectively. 

The highest number of candidates who secured seats in the top 5,000 ranks for Engineering were from the CBSE stream. While 2,602 students from CBSE figured in the top 5,000 ranks, 2,112 students from the State Higher Secondary stream, 242 from ISC and 44 from other boards also figured in the list. Ernakulam had the highest number of students in the top 100 ranks at 21, followed by Thiruvananthapuram at 17 and Kozhikode at 11. Among the top 100 rank holders, 78 were boys and 22 were girls. While 64 candidates made it to the top 100 ranks in the first attempt, 36 of them achieved this feat in their second attempt. 

Commissioner for Entrance Examinations Anupama TV said that candidates can rearrange their options till October 9. The last date for rearranging options can be extended only if the AICTE makes changes to the October 25 deadline for starting classes for freshers in Engineering colleges. 

Pharmacy & Architecture 
Of the 60,889 candidates who appeared for the entrance exam for Pharmacy courses, 48,556 candidates made it in the rank list. This included 35,325 girls and 13,231 boys. Girls and boys shared the top ten ranks equally. The first three rank holders in the Pharmacy entrance exam are Faris Abdul Nasar from Thrissur, Thejaswi Vinod from Kannur and Akshara Anand from Pathanamthitta. 

In the entrance exam for Architecture courses, 2,816 candidates were included in the rank list. This included 1,803 girls and 1,013 boys. While Thejus Joseph from Kannur bagged the first rank, the second and third ranks were won by Amreen from Kozhikode and Aathinadh Chandra from Thrissur.