Rural development is a far more complex, long term proposition than has been generally admitted, for it involves a fundamental transformation across social, political, and economic lines. While the learning needs of rural populations vary considerably, educational planning for all rural areas should incorporate the concept of learning as a lifelong process, and the collective potential of existing formal, informal, and nonformal educational modes should be thoroughly explored. Possible means of affecting change via careful educational planning might include: (1) reorientation and transformation of the schools (area specific objectives to accomodate the majority, rather than the minority; flexible time schedules that do not tie age to grade; and concentration on a generalized curriculum); (2) building educational components into local development projects; (3) strengthening indigenous learning systems to do a broader and better job; (4) tying related educational programs together; and (5) tapping unused resources (e.g., broadcasting systems, underutilized school facilities and teachers, etc.). These suggestions imply that educational planning must: involve all voluntary and official organizations; become more and more decentralized; be melded with development planning; pay much closer attention to the sociological, cultural, political, and organizational aspects of education; include training for non-professional planners. (JC)