Kukkuje School's Road to Japan: Three Students, One Teacher

Aditya, a high school student at Government PU College, Kukkuje, in Karkala taluk, has placed among the country's top 60 innovations with 'Cut It Easy' and qualified for the international stage in Japan. It is the second time the rural government school has reached that stage.

Kukkuje is a small place in Karkala taluk, and its government school is not the kind of address people usually link with Japan. Yet this week, news from there travelled well beyond Udupi district.

Aditya, a student of the high school section at Government Pre-University College, Kukkuje, has secured a place among the country's top 60 innovations with his invention, 'Cut It Easy', and has qualified for the international stage in Japan. For the school, it is the second time in a row that a student idea has taken it that far.

The Idea That Went National

'Cut It Easy' was developed under the INSPIRE Awards–MANAK programme, a Department of Science and Technology scheme that invites students in classes 6 to 12 to come up with original ideas. Aditya's project cleared the programme's successive stages before reaching the national level, where it was placed among the top 60 innovations in the country.

What the invention actually does has not been described in the reports so far. The published coverage names the project and its achievements but does not explain its design or the problem it addresses, so this article does not guess. What is clear is that the idea impressed judges at every step.

The numbers show how selective the climb is. This year, 120 students from Karnataka reached the national level, and only nine of them were selected for the international stage. Aditya is one of those nine.

The Teacher Behind Three Journeys

Aditya developed 'Cut It Easy' under the guidance of Suresh Marakala, a national award-winning social science teacher at the school. He is the common thread in this story. Marakala also guided the school's earlier INSPIRE-MANAK success stories, and reports describe his work in spotting and nurturing young talent as drawing wide appreciation.

A social science teacher guiding science innovators may sound unusual. It is also a reminder that innovation starts with curiosity and encouragement, not with a particular subject. The reports credit sustained mentorship, meaning a teacher who keeps asking students what problem they could solve and then walks with them through each stage of the competition.

Not the First Time

The school had already made headlines once. At the 11th National Level Exhibition and Project Competition of INSPIRE-MANAK in New Delhi in September 2024, Amulya Hegde, then a class 9 student of Government PU College, Kukkuje, won third prize for a flood-detecting pole, according to the Department of Science and Technology. She and another student from Karkala taluk, Nikhita, went on to be selected for Japan's Sakura Science High School Programme and travelled to Tokyo for a science event in June 2025.

Reports now say Kukkuje Government High School is the first school in the country to reach this international recognition twice through the initiative. That is a claim from the news reports, and it has not been independently confirmed, but even without a "first," two international selections from a rural government school is a remarkable record.

Kukkuje's Run on the INSPIRE-MANAK Ladder

Student	Project	Milestone
Amulya Hegde	Flood-detecting pole	Third prize at the 11th national exhibition (September 2024); selected for the Sakura Science High School Programme in Japan with Nikhita
Nikhita		Selected with Amulya for Japan's Sakura Science High School Programme
Aditya	'Cut It Easy'	Among the top 60 innovations nationally; qualified for the international stage in Japan (October 2026)

What Happens in Japan?

Reports describe Aditya's selection as being for an international-level competition in Japan, and the dates of the trip have not been announced. The school's earlier students were selected for the Sakura Science High School Programme, which, according to the Department of Science and Technology's notice, is a youth exchange in which the Japan Science and Technology Agency invites Asian high school students to Japan for about a week.

Why This Story Matters

For every family in a village school catchment, this story answers a quiet question: can a government school in a rural taluk compete at the highest level? Kukkuje has now answered it twice.

It also shows how little it takes to start. An idea, a ₹10,000 grant to build it, a teacher who cares and a student willing to keep going through district, state and national rounds. The rest, as the school's results suggest, is persistence.

Congratulations to Aditya, to Suresh Marakala and to everyone at Kukkuje who helped these ideas travel so far.

FAQ

Who is Aditya?

Aditya is a high school student at Government Pre-University College, Kukkuje, in Karkala taluk, Udupi district. His invention 'Cut It Easy' placed among the country's top 60 innovations at INSPIRE Awards–MANAK and qualified for the international stage in Japan.

What is 'Cut It Easy'?

Reports name the project but do not describe what it does or what problem it addresses. That information has not yet been published.

What is INSPIRE Awards–MANAK?

It is a Department of Science and Technology scheme, carried out with the National Innovation Foundation, that encourages students in classes 6 to 12 to develop original ideas. Selected students receive ₹10,000 to build a project, and the best ideas progress through district, state and national stages.

How selective is the international stage?

According to the reports, 120 students from Karnataka reached the national level this year, and only nine were selected for the international stage.

Who guided Aditya?

Suresh Marakala, a national award-winning social science teacher at the school, who also guided the school's earlier INSPIRE-MANAK students.

What is the Sakura Science High School Programme?

According to the Department of Science and Technology's notice, it is a youth exchange in which the Japan Science and Technology Agency invites Asian high school students to Japan for about a week. The school's earlier students, Amulya Hegde and Nikhita, were selected for it.

Has Kukkuje school really made the international stage twice?

News reports say so and describe it as a first in the country for the initiative. That claim has not been independently confirmed.

Where is Kukkuje?

Kukkuje is in Karkala taluk, Udupi district, in coastal Karnataka.

Three Students, One Teacher, One Village School: Kukkuje's Road to Japan