The confluence of three major forces has given a new significance to nonformal education for the developing countries--denied educational opportunities and resource constraints, questions about the relevance of formal education, and growing awareness of the importance of lifelong education. The absence of inadequacies of concepts and priorities of rural development are a fundamental impediment to the progress of nonformal education because they should set the context for education, help define the educational tasks, and provide the criteria for assessing educational performance. Signs of progress in overcoming this obstacle are indicated in that economists and development planners have become disillusioned with the relentless pursuit of the growth of GNP and are making the elimination of problems of poverty one of the goals of development. Educational obstacles to the progress of nonformal education include: the narrowness of the concept of education; fragmentation of organization and program; resource problems; problems of knowledge, techniques, and capabilities; and the responsibilities of international agencies. Major features of the new learning system, if continued progress is made, will be: wider distribution of education and structural flexibility, freedom of education from lock-steps of levels and grades, enlargement of educational resources, shared responsibilities between schools and employing agencies for occupational preparation, and local variations and flexibility. (KM)