EDUCATION CHIEF SAYS THERE'S NO TEACHER SHORTAGE.(MAIN)

Byline: FREDREKA SCHOUTEN Gannett News Service

WASHINGTON -- The nation's teacher shortage ``is a contrived one,'' the Bush administration's top education official said Monday.

``I don't subscribe to the idea that there is a shortage of teachers,'' Education Secretary Rod Paige said. ``I think there are some systems that block people out of the teaching profession who would be wonderful teachers.''

His comments, at a meeting with Gannett News Service and USA Today, come as school districts around the country start to comply with President Bush's school reform law.

Education experts have estimated more than 2 million new teachers will be …