Technology Adoption at the University of Botswana

Abstract

Technology adoption in the Botswana higher education system has been a priority for many years. The implementation of these technologies has been spurred on by the educational policies developed in the country post-Independence. These policies promote technology as a way for all Batswana to access education. Since independence in 1966, a technology adoption and diffusion system has been proposed and introduced. Prior to 1966, Botswana was a British colony and education generally was a low priority with only some people having access. During the colonial period the number of students in schools often vastly outnumbered the teachers. After independence and with the new policy priority of Education For All (Letshabo, 2000), Botswana was faced with the need to train teachers quickly to meet the new expected student/teacher ratio. In addition, the government attempted to develop an infrastructure nation-wide to facilitate technology adoption and diffusion in all education systems including the university. However, despite the policies and the attempts to develop infrastructure, adoption of e-learning technologies, especially at the University of Botswana, has been slow. Historical and contextual factors are, in part, to blame. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on these historical and contextual circumstances both during the colonial period and after independence.