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The top two scores for Afghanistan's tertiary entrance exam went to students from the central Ghor province, but the bulk of the top scores came from Daykundi province which had 16 students in top 20.
There were no women among the top 30 scores, with the highest female achiever – who also came from Daykundi – ranking 33rd.
More than 175,000 students sat the test across Afghanistan's 34 provinces.
The top two scorers went to the same school in Ghor province, Sultan Alauddin, and received equal scores of 333 out of 360. The third-highest score was close behind with 332 from a student of Daykundi province.
The top female student received a score of 328.
The Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) reported that a total of 42,168 students made it through to their preferred higher education institution, with another 13,617 making the cut for their preferred technical college.
A further 18,000 students who did not make the score for their higher education institutions will be allowed to attend a "middle education" institute – typically a two-year diploma type course which can be upgraded to a bachelor degree later on.
"The students who failed to succeed in the higher education university entrance will be drawn into the middle education institutions mostly in the provinces in three areas: technical and vocational education institutes, teacher training centers, and religious training centers," MoHE Deputy Minister for Students Affairs Barai Sediqi said in press conference Saturday.
Another 8500 who did not achieve the necessary entrance score are expected to head to private education centres, he added.
Meanwhile, 542 people were caught cheating or violating the rules of the Kankor with a number of them presented to the attorney general, Sediqi said.
In total, 67,956 students achieved scores above the average 167.7 out of 360. Another 49,638 failed.
MoHE officials said that a complaints commission is now open for students to address results they are not satisfied with and it will be active until March 15.
It is expected that over 1000 students with highest scores will receive government scholarships in India, Pakistan, Russia and Kazakhstan.
The results of 2688 students attending religious schools is yet to be announced, the ministry said.