THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The revised rank list of KEAM engineering entrance exam, that was published late on Thursday after reverting to the old mark standardisation formula following a High Court directive, saw state syllabus students losing out top spots compared to the rank list brought out on July 1.
While a state syllabus student was the engineering entrance topper in the previous rank list, his position slipped to No 7 in the new rank list. The top spot in the revised rank list went to a CBSE syllabus student who was ranked fifth in the previous rank list.
CBSE students also bagged the top six ranks. However, the seventh and eighth spots were bagged by students from the state syllabus. While 43 state syllabus students figured in top 100 ranks in the July 1 rank list, the revised rank list saw their numbers dwindling to 21. On the other hand, the number of CBSE students among the top 100 ranks rose from 55 to 79.
Among the top 5,000 spots in the new rank list, there were 1,796 state syllabus students. Notably, their number was 2,539 in the July 1 rank list. The number of CBSE students in this category rose from 2,220 in the previous ranklist to 2,960 in the revised one.
Earlier in the day, a division bench of the High Court upheld a single judge’s order cancelling the KEAM 2025 results. The state government decided not to approach the Supreme Court against the High Court verdict on the grounds that the engineering admission process has to be completed by August 14, as stipulated by the All India Council For Technical Education.
‘Going forward with litigation will affect students’
Higher Education Minister R Bindu said the government had adopted a new formula for mark standardisation and weightage owing to “injustice” towards state syllabus students in the earlier system. She said students could approach court if there were complaints over the new rank list.
“As per the clause in the prospectus, the government can make amendments to it. However, we accept the (High Court) verdict,” Bindu told reporters. She said going forward with litigation in the issue would be detrimental to the interests of the students.“We cannot continue with uncertainty as the AICTE has given the deadline of August 14 for completion of admission process. The government has always stood for protecting the interests of students,” she added.The minister was noncommittal when asked whether the new mark standardisation formula would be used next year, saying it was too early to comment on it.
Earlier, dismissing the state government’s appeal, the division bench comprising Justice Anil K Narendran and Justice Muralee Krishna S said: “A reading of the report of the standardisation review committee, which was relied on by the Advocate General, would not support the decision now taken by the government for adopting an entirely different standardisation procedure.”