Calcutta, June 29 :     The day after the city shunned the Left Front, the Madhyamik merit list all but blanked out the city. The merit list for Madhyamik 2000, declared on Thursday, was dominated by the district schools. The first three positions went to two boys and a girl from schools in Midnapore, Cooch Behar and South Dinajpur. Calcutta had to be content with jointly holding fourth, fifth and ninth positions, secured by students of Scottish Church and Baranagar Ramakrishna Mission Schools. 'The results show that the better schools are no longer confined to Calcutta,' said Arun Kiran Chakraborty, president of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education. 'The merit list and overall results show that quality schools are available even in the remote areas,' he added. Barring Scottish Church Collegiate School and Baranagar Ramakrishna Mission, noted schools did not figure in the merit list. Kaji Rajibul Islam, of Chakdwipa High School of Tamluk, Midnapore, stood first, obtaining 765 out of a total of 800 marks. Celebrations began as the news spread at Rajibul's village, Kushtia, in South 24 Parganas, and Tamluk, where the school is located. 'I want to do my Higher Secondary from Ramakrishna Mission, Narendrapur, and become a space scientist,' Islam said over telephone. The pass percentage this year has risen to 70.45 per cent, against 68.94 per cent last year. The examinations were held in March. However, sources in the board said the performance of most well-known schools in Calcutta was better than that of many district schools. There were no failures in South Point, Modern High School, Loreto and St Lawrence. The number of Calcutta students scoring first division was far more than that in the districts. Twenty per cent of the successful candidates obtained first division. This year, 82,127 students have been placed in first division, against 75,023 in 1999. Chakraborty said students will get their marksheets from their respective schools from Friday. The marksheets will be distributed to the schools from the board's camp offices and regional centres from 8 am on Friday. Dibakar Dutta of Manindra High School, Cooch Behar, came second. He scored 763. Pramita Mitra, from a school in Balurghat, in north Bengal, stood third. First among female candidates, Pramita has obtained 759. Two more students have come third, obtaining the same marks. They, too, are from district schools.