Bhubaneswar: The Directorate of Higher Secondary Education (DHSE), Odisha, has released the first selection merit list for Plus II admissions for the 2026–27 academic year.

A total of 429,219 students have been selected in the first round, recording an overall selection rate of approximately 93.04 per cent.

According to the DHSE, altogether 4,61,325 students had applied for Plus II admissions, out of which 4,29,219 secured seats in the first selection. Among the selected candidates, 276,925 have been allotted seats in the Arts stream, 121,494 in Science, 19,844 in Commerce, 6,134 in Upashastri, and 4,822 in Vocational Education.

The selected candidates include 2,00,493 boys, 2,28,675 girls, and 51 students from the transgender category.

As many as 297,454 students have secured admission to their first-choice higher secondary schools. Meanwhile, 32,106 applicants who could not be accommodated in the first round will have an opportunity to participate in the second phase and spot selection process.

Among the institutions, Ravenshaw Higher Secondary School in Cuttack recorded the highest cut-off marks in multiple streams, with 93.40 per cent in Science, 82.40 per cent in Commerce, and 81 per cent in Arts.

In the Vocational stream, Government Vocational School, Dharamgarh in Kalahandi district topped with a cut-off of 74.67 per cent, while Gurukul Sanskrit Higher Secondary School at Chakapad in Kandhamal district recorded the highest cut-off of 57 per cent in the Upashastri stream.

The data also shows that out of 426,406 applicants from the Board of Secondary Education (BSE), Odisha, 395,681 students secured seats in the first phase of admissions.

Classes for the first year of Plus II across higher secondary schools in Odisha are scheduled to commence on July 23.