This paper is an analysis of education policy in South Africa made from 1994 until the end of 1997. The main argument is that the vision underpinning education policy has narrowed considerably, threatening the possibility of reconstructing an equitable and unified education system. The paper shows how education policy was developed in interaction with the structural and political dynamics operating in the conjunctural terrain of the 1990s. Instead of laying a firm basis for educational reconstruction, education policy has been limited to symbolism and compensatory legitimation. The paper provides an approach to challenging the conservative policy environment, arguing that the reinsertion of equality into the policy framework, and conceptualizing change on the basis of a long-term sustainable development path, are key elements of educational reconstruction in South Africa.