Gujarat Girl Walks 10 Km Daily for WiFi, Tops Board Exams with 95%

Gujarat, India – Teenage Girl Climbs 10 km Daily for WiFi, Tops Her Board Exams

In the dusty hills of Dang district, Gujarat, 17-year-old Priya Solanki became a quiet force of determination. Each day, at sunrise, she strapped on her worn-out backpack, filled it with a tiffin box, a notebook, a power bank, and a second-hand smartphone—and began her 10-kilometre uphill trek to the only place where she could find a reliable mobile signal.

All she wanted was to attend online classes.

“I didn’t want to fall behind,” Priya said. “I knew my parents couldn’t afford private tuition or a new phone. But I had a hill. And that was enough.”

Priya lives in a remote tribal village where mobile connectivity is nearly non-existent. When schools shifted online during the pandemic and later retained digital components, she found herself cut off from her studies. Her parents, both daily wage workers, offered their full support—but couldn’t do much beyond encouragement.

Then Priya discovered something miraculous.

“One day, I climbed a small ridge near our farm while looking for firewood. My phone suddenly buzzed with notifications. It was the school WhatsApp group.”

From that day on, she climbed that same hill every single day—often sitting on a rock, facing harsh sun, winds, or monsoon showers—with a small umbrella over her head, absorbing lectures on chemistry, maths, and English. Her power bank was a birthday gift from her uncle. Her data packs were paid for by collecting and selling mangoes during the summer.

This June, Priya scored 95.4% in her state board Class 12 exams, topping not just her school but becoming the highest scorer in her taluka.

Her story came to light when her teacher, Mr. Rameshbhai Patel, shared a photo of her sitting under a tree with a caption:
“No WiFi. No tuition. Just willpower.”

It went viral overnight.

“She never missed a submission. Never made excuses,” said Mr. Patel. “We assumed she had good internet at home. We had no idea she was doing this.”

Local officials and education advocates have since visited Priya’s village. A private company has pledged to sponsor her undergraduate education, and a local NGO has donated a solar-powered tablet with offline learning content. Efforts are now underway to install a mobile signal tower in the area.

“I want to become a civil servant,” Priya says. “So I can bring change not just to my village, but others like it.”

Her next challenge? Preparing for the UPSC entrance exam. She’s already begun making flashcards—and still climbs the hill each morning, even though her story has now travelled far beyond it.

UPDATE: Priya has received scholarship offers from two Delhi-based foundations and has been invited to speak at the Gujarat State Education Summit this August.