This study is concerned with the organization of education in rural areas and the advantages of a strategy based on multigrade classes, i.e. classes having a single teacher but pupils of several grade levels studying different curricula. This strategy made a substantial contribution to the achievement of universal primary education at reasonable cost in Europe and North America. But what about in the south, particularly in countries that are materially less well-off and are still far from achieving education for all, such as the French-speaking African countries? What are the minimum conditions under which the strategy of multigrade classes can help bring quality education to rural areas? What kind of training and support should be given to teachers working in conditions that can be extremely difficult? These are the kinds of questions raised and addressed in this work, with a particular focus on French-speaking Africa. Drawing on the experience of many countries, the authors offer practical, useful lessons for educational planners. The following are appended: (1) Recommendation No. 52 to the Ministries of Education Concerning the organization of one-teacher primary schools; (2) Recommendations by the Participants in the IIEP/Resafad Seminar--Paris, April 2002; and (3) Training Modules for Multigrade Teachers. (Contains 4 tables and 10 boxes.)