This report on the educational systems in China and South Africa compares the policies and processes of the two countries as they attempt to expand and improve rural education. Both countries experienced a major political upheaval, and even though there is a 50-year time lag between these events, political changes ushered in radical educational transformation. Today China provides basic education to almost all of its citizens, both youths and adults. However, there are lags in rural areas, particularly among women in minority groups. Changes were made in a stepwise fashion, with different contexts dictating the pace of reform. In contrast, South African educators have attempted to implement extensive changes at a rapid rate to meet constitutional challenges related to equity, redress, non-racism, and non-sexism. The new policies are in line with the most innovative changes made by developed countries, placing enormous stress on government officials, who often do not have the resources or the capacity to implement the policies. Although financing strategies are directing more funds towards the poorest South African communities, the process of implementation has tended to ignore massive inequities between different regions of the country, which arose during the apartheid era. Appendices present a case study of a Chinese initiative to educate poor rural children and descriptions of the educational systems in Zambia and Swaziland. (Contains 15 references and 16 endnotes.) (TD)