Harvard did not accurately report the foreign contributions it received last year in what University officials said was an accidental omission.

Recording Secretary John H. Hanselman said the the oversight was an inadvertent error by the person filing the data, which was presented to the Department of education.

The Department of Education requires reporting of these gifts to monitor foreign control over American higher education.

"All the information was there, but because of an accident only the sponsored research piece was filed and the gifts were left off," he said.

Hanselman said the error had been corrected and that all foreign contributions have now been reported.

"And as far a I know there's no penalty for non-compliance," a University official said.

Harvard officials could not provide a specific number for how much total money they receive annually from foreign countries.

Several universtities have ignored the 1992 Higher Education Act's requirement that they file reports of all foreign gifts, according to this week's Chronicle of Higher Education. The Chronicle named Harvard as one school which misreported its gifts.

Last year, the University received millions of dollars worth of contributions from various foreign countries.

Notable gifts from foreign governments included: a $5 million donation from King Fahd of Saudi Arabia to the Law School for Islamic legal studies, $3.5 million from an organization connected with the South Korean government to establish a chair in Korean literature and a $20 million gift from a Swiss countess to the School of Public Health.

The Chronicle also listed "grants, gifts and pledges" from three African countries: $1.65 million from Zambia, $1.06 million from Kenya and $2.8 million from Malawi.

But Patricia B. Tucker, director of award management and resource information, said these transactions were not gifts, but contracts.

The three African countries, in fact, have contracted with Harvard for technical assistance with various problems they are experiencing, according to Richard Pagett, executive director of the Harvard Institute for International Development.

"Those payments definitely are not gifts," Pagett said. "They are contractswhich are supported by organizations such as theWorld Bank and UNDP [United Nation's DevelopmentProgram]. As a matter of fact the countriesthemselves have paid very little money."

The institute receives roughly $35 million eachyear from foreign countries for its services,according to Pagett.

The development institute is a "unique"organization established in 1979 to make expertsavailable to Third World Countries who would thenbring back knowledge to Harvard which would"internationalize the curriculum," Pagett said.

The institute has provided Zambia, Kenya andMalawi with advisors to help with budget, tax andfinance reforms