<b>Students’ Experiences of ICT Access, Participation, and Learning in Botswana’s Computer Awareness Programme</b>

Using a qualitative design, open-ended questionnaire data were collected from 25 students at a rural public junior secondary school in Northeast Botswana and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. The findings show that students’ experiences were shaped by five interrelated dimensions: constrained access to ICT, uneven patterns of ICT use and participation, differences in confidence and proficiency, coping strategies under restricted conditions, and emotional and social influences on engagement.

Limited devices, unreliable internet connectivity, power outages, restricted laboratory access, and shared computer use reduced opportunities for sustained hands-on learning and equitable participation. At the same time, peer support, family assistance, and self-directed learning emerged as important coping strategies that helped students sustain learning under constrained conditions. The study provides a student-centred account of digital inequality in a school-based digital skills subject, showing that equitable educational technology provision requires not only access to ICT but also meaningful participation, sustained hands-on practice, and support for developing confidence and digital skills.</p>