Though their O-Net scores for this year were disallowed by the University Presidents' Council of Thailand (UPCT), 926 applicants who completed high school before 2005 will be welcomed by at least 26 universities.

"Once the students pass admission, they should have the right to study in the faculty they desire," Deputy Education Minister Varakorn Samkoses said yesterday.

When this year's university admission results were reported yesterday afternoon, 926 out of the 2,032 students who sat the Ordinary National Educational Test (O-Net) for the second year found they had scored higher than the minimum for the faculties they had chosen.

They may get places, as 26 universities have agreed to enrol all who pass the O-Net whether for the first or second time, Varakorn said.

Kasetsart, Chiang Mai, Prince of Songkhla and Naresuan are among the universities willing to accept the students, while six universities, including Chulalongkorn, Thammasat, Mahidol and Silpakorn, will decide on Thursday, the date set for those who pass.

However, 25 universities have not yet reported their stance on the issue to the UPCT.

After several delays due to the court case over multiple O-Net scores, the Higher Education Commission released admission results yesterday on several websites.

Among the hundreds of thousands of students who passed the exam was a blind student, Piyanut Thongmul of Samsen Wittayalai School. Piyanut succeeded in entering Silpakorn's Faculty of Liberal Arts. He begged the university to provide him with texts in Braille.

The university admission criteria this year were severely criticised by thousands of students who completed high school before 2005 and took the O-Net again this year.

The UPCT)said only first O-Net scores counted in admissions because they were meant to measure a student's academic ability at completion of Grade 12.

The students then took their case to the Khon Kaen Administrative Court, which ruled in their favour. However, the Supreme Administrative Court on Friday overrode the lower court on the grounds that it would "obstruct the UPCT's work".