This paper provides a critical analysis of the National Bilingual Programme in Colombia. It considers how and why it aims to extend the teaching of "a" foreign language in Primary and Secondary school in 1994, to the teaching of English to an internationally recognized standard in all sectors of education by 2019, while at the same time attempting to promote the bilingual education of the Creole and Amerindian speaking sections of the population. It suggests that although some of the aims of the programme are being met, the contexts in which it is being implemented are too diverse and the aims too broad for the programme to be implemented successfully in its current state.