Poverty is still a challenge in the development of education in underdeveloped countries in general and particularly in rural areas. Both Rwanda and Sri Lanka have been putting much effort into poverty reduction and achievements are observable. Although both countries put more effort in the education sector among other key priorities for development, an imbalance in access to education between rural and urban areas education still, is observable. Low access and high dropout are high in rural areas compared to urban areas. This paper articulates poverty reduction and its impact on education both in rural and urban areas that is, Rwanda and Sri Lanka. The study uses the secondary data from world development indicators of World Bank and other data from the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda and the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Education and Cultural Affairs in Sri Lanka. The results show that poverty had been considerably reduced in both countries, Rwanda and Sri Lanka, and also access to education in rural areas increased compared to earlier times. Even though the governments’ emphasis on poverty reduction has positively impacted access to education both rural and urban areas in Rwanda and Sri Lanka. The challenges are still many and affect the quality of education in rural areas and in some parts of urban areas.
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