<b>Students’ Experiences of ICT Access and Use in Botswana’s Computer Awareness Programme: A Digital Inequality Perspective</b>

This study explores students’ experiences of accessing and using ICT in Botswana’s Computer Awareness programme through a digital inequality lens. 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, 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. At the same time, peer support, family assistance, and self-directed learning emerged as important coping strategies. The study provides a student-centred account of digital inequality in a foundational school computing subject, showing that inequality extends beyond physical access to include disparities in use, confidence, skills, support, and opportunities to benefit from ICT.