Initial, interest in the subject stemmed from working with Dr. Richard Seddon, formerly with the South Pacific Commission and latterly Professor and Head of the School of Education, Macquarie University, Sydney, and from a study of the work of Dr. C.E. Beeby on the quality of education in developing countries. (1) Several of Beeby's conclusions and the evidence contained in Unesco reports of education in various Afro-Asian countries appeared to cast grave doubts on the merits of the Karachi and Addis Ababa Plans as suitable guides for the future development of education in those regions. This was particularly so with respect to the strong emphasis placed on the rapid expansion of education, especially at the primary level.