The shortage of teachers has been discussed for years as a crucial problem. In 1969, the National Education Association estimated that the teacher shortage was 224,200 when a minimum quality criterion was considered. Despite this apparent shortage of "qualified" teachers, decreases in the number of births, and increases in the number of college graduate education majors reveal a trend towards a surplus of available teachers. Although presently the oversupply of teachers is in selected areas, such as secondary social studies and male physical education, projections indicate that surpluses will soon exist in all areas. Rates of increase for education graduates in New York State exceed those of the nation. Thus the problem of teacher suprlus is more acute in this state. Only 60 percent of State University College at Buffalo elementary education graduates were placed in teaching positions in 1970, as compared with 83 percent in 1966. In view of this problem, it is recommended that programs to prepare junior and community college teachers be expanded, that emphasis be shifted from preparing new teachers to improving the competencies of inservice teachers, that admission standards for teacher education programs be modified, and that student advisors at both the high school and college level become more familiar with trends in the demand for manpower. (Author/RT)