The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) on Tuesday said 17,336 day school students who sat this year's Diploma of Secondary Education Examination met the minimum university entry requirements.

That amounts to around 42 percent of more than 41,000 day school candidates who are due to receive their exam results on Wednesday.

To qualify for one of the 15,000 subsidised places at local universities, candidates are required to at least attain a level 3 or above for Chinese and English languages, and level 2 for Mathematics and Liberal Studies.

Speaking at a press conference, the HKEAA’s secretary general, Wei Xiang-dong, said competition for university places is generally less intense due to a drop in the number of candidates vying for a place.

But he stressed certain programmes offered by some institutions remain highly popular.

Meanwhile, the authority said eight students are considered “top scholars” this year, having achieved the highest level 5** for 7 subjects. That's up from seven last year.