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 elearning
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.