Low birth rates and budget problems are being blamed

Teaching graduates are struggling to find jobs in primary schools, a survey suggests - the reverse of the longstanding belief that the big recruitment problem was a shortage of teachers.

The Universities Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET) says this employment market is the worst in five years - and school budget shortages could be responsible.

Around a third of the primary school teacher training providers who answered its survey said their students had had problems getting posts.

This is in contrast to long running complaints from schools that a shortage of teachers is damaging the quality of education.

'Fewer interviews'

A UCET spokesman said: "Our final-year students are finding it much more difficult to get posts than they did last year, although this is difficult to quantify.

"With the Primary BA (bachelor of arts) students, only about half have obtained posts whereas usually nearly all of them have been snapped up by now."

He added: "Those who have a teaching post seem to have fewer interviews before securing the post."

Lower birth rates in the UK mean there are fewer primary school children, accounting for some of the shortage of posts.

Funding problems, which have left some schools with budget shortfalls of up to �500,000, are also being blamed.

The Department for Education and Skills has rejected suggestions that successes in attracting more people into teaching have been exaggerated, with figures including trainees and unqualified staff.

A spokesman said there were 25,000 more teachers than in 1997 and more teachers than at any time since 1982.