A UNION last night expressed dismay at how bureaucratic bungling and red tape could be adding to the nation's teacher recruitment crisis.

With her mature attitude and a passion for learning, Sara Harry would appear to be the perfect candidate to help stem the crisis in teacher shortages.

But her ambition to become a teacher has almost been cut short after a number of frustrating blunders by the Graduate Teacher Training Registry.

Schools are facing a desperate struggle to fill empty teaching posts and find supply cover for short and long-term staff absences.

But Ms Harry had to battle to get on to a teacher training course, albeit after the official closing date.

The 30-year-old, from Rushyford, County Durham, sent in her application form about seven weeks ago to the Graduate Teacher Training Registry, with a reference and a choice of London primary school courses.

She expected the registry to send the application to institutions on her behalf.

But when she contacted the agency to change one of her course options, she discovered the registry had no record of her application - despite the fact that receipt of it had been acknowledged.

"If I hadn't wanted to change my options I would never have found out I was not on their system," said Ms Harry, who has a degree in environmental science and postgraduate diploma in information technology.

Several more problems delayed the process until she was told all the courses were full.

Fortunately, she had sent photocopied forms to her preferred schools, and has since gained two interviews.

A Graduate Teacher Training Registry spokeswoman said she could not comment on individual cases, but said the official closing date for applications was December 15 last year.

"Applications received after will be processed but only sent to institutions if places are still available," she said.

Hans Ruyssenaars, regional officer of the National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers, said: "If things are going wrong in this way so consistently with one case, you wonder how many other people out there are trying to enter the profession but are being barred from doing so because of bureaucratic red tape."