President Bush wants to spend $1.5 billion teaching Americans how to get and stay married. I suggest he simply write a check to the Learning Annex.

That venerable night school, now operating in seven cities, teaches everything from Finding the Work You Love, to How to Shoot Your Own Live Adult Video. (Not the same class.) But some of its most popular courses – at least among women – are those teaching precisely the skills Bush is pushing: How to snag a spouse.

As a big believer in marriage myself, not as an easy answer to our social problems, but as an easy answer to, “How do I get a guy to listen to my often pointless anecdotes for the next 40 years?” – I decided to jump-start Bush’s program. To this end, I asked several Learning Annex teachers their get-a-guy secrets.

Unfortunately, there is not complete agreement on the first step: Attracting one. Roxanne Usleman, author of the forthcoming book “Soulmates,” suggests making romantic overtures during a new moon. But Barbara Sher, author of “I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was,” has a different approach: “When you meet a guy, tell him that you don’t cook and you’re not sure you like sex.” This works because all men love a challenge. Supposedly.

Say the man accepts that challenge and the woman now has a serious boyfriend. Remember, says John Molloy, author of “Why Men Marry Some Women and Not Others,” the boyfriend doesn’t see himself that way.

“A woman has six dates, she thinks she’s in a relationship. A guy goes out six months and he’s just ‘dating.”‘ What this means for the marriage-minded miss is: Shut up! Demanding a commitment in the first half-year is relationship suicide!

On the other hand, says Tina Pugliese, teacher of “How to Make the Right Man Fall in Love with You,” a lady can’t wait around forever, either. If her beau hasn’t mentioned marriage by year’s end, it is time for her to ever-so-casually announce something like, “You’re a great guy. I’d love to grow old with you, but if that’s not what you’re thinking about, I’m afraid I’ve got to get on with my life.” And then, if need be, she must walk.

This is the one point that all the teachers agreed on: The longer a couple shacks up, the less likely they are to marry.

So even while I don’t like the idea of partners playing mind games, or Bush telling Americans how to act, I realize: This is advice to mull.

No – this is advice to take. It may be hokey. It may be grandmotherly. It may even be – I hate to say it – Republican. But the Learning Annex knows from relationships.

It knows from live adult videos, too. But that’s another story.

Lenore Skenazy is a columnist for the New York Daily News.