Abstract Education and its impact on poverty: Equity or exclusion', examines the poor and their relationship with the education system in the Caribbean. It does so through an analysis of data from recently conducted poverty assessments in selected Caribbean countries. It agrees that education is one of the single most vital elements in combating poverty and that it is a right. The paper suggests that there is genuine belief in schooling and that it will lead to better opportunities and an improved standard of living. Parents, rich or poor, expect that the education system will provide their children with the basic skills to either continue with their education or to pursue a livelihood, which will enable them to enjoy a decent standard of living. The paper reports that some 38 per cent of the population in the Caribbean are classified as poor, and their poverty acts as a constraining factor to access and to the quality of education that is received. Exacerbating the state of poverty, is the generally low performance level of the education system. The paper concludes therefore, that the education system is failing one group of children more than others - those that are poor - and thus denying them the opportunity to become contributing members of the society and achieving the goal of sustainable human development. It suggests that what is needed is a rescue plan for the education system which will transform it into a catalyst for genuine social equity. If not, the stratification between rich and poor, that currently exists may reinforce rather than correct income inequalities and perpetuate the cycle of poverty.