Dean Monro Reports on Progress Of Arrangements for Peace Corps

Harvard's role, big or small, in the national Peace Corps should become clear in the very near future, Dean Monro said yesterday. R. Sargent Shriver, director of the Peace Corps, will leave today on a misison to Nigeria for conferences that should decide the final form of the American effort.

Monro has been in Washington three times in the past three weeks, meeting with representatives of other universities, heads of foundations and government agencies, and Peace Corps personnel. These conferences "have tried to see what kind of program the Peace Corps could hope to implement," Monro explained.

Meanwhile, at Harvard, Leon D. Bramson, instructor in Social Relations; Lloyd I. Rudolph '48, assistant professor of Government; and Paul E. Sigmund, Jr., instructor in Government, have led seminars in Nigerian history and the problems of cultural adaptation for members of the African Teaching Project.

An issue which has divided the conferees in Washington is the desired length of training sessions. Monro reported a polarization between "educationists" who want certified instructors, and those who think an A.B. degree plus three or four months of practice teaching should be sufficient qualification.

Although some projects, such as the Columbia Teachers College, requires men with only an A.B. to undergo nine months of training in Uganda, mostly in pedagogy, Monro said he was "persuaded we can do it in four months." Monro would advocate an even shorter training period, but, he said, "the Peace Corps is worried about the political implication of failure."

Thus the Peace Corps plan is expected to require a month or two of orientation in this country, including a selection process to weed out potential "failures." This period would be used for study of both African and American culture, comparative analysis of American, British, and African schools, and an introduction to educational strategy, psychology, and measurement. Ideally, this would be followed by a full term of practice teaching in Nigerian schools.

"My guess is that a security check and a loyalty oath will be written into the Peace Corps," Monro said. Although "nobody thinks these are particularly necessary or desirable," he observed, "I wouldn't want Harvard outside the Peace Corps on these counts." "No one has talked yet of an affidavit of disbelief," he added.

Government Requires Oath

Monro pointed out that "the least employee of the Federal government takes a loyalty oath." He said, "People don't have to go into the Peace Corps. If they are working for the government, it has a right to require an oath."

President Pusey indicated last week that he would look with disfavor on a loyalty oath provision. Monro charged that the oath "smacks of distrust, won't do any good, and cheapens the whole virtue of oaths," and said it represented an invasion of privacy, but he suggested that only an attempt to require an affidavit of disbelief should be strenuously opposed.

"There is great argument as to what extent the Peace Corps should be an instrument of national policy," Monro said. Pusey said last week that "the Peace Corps will get on better in the world, the more it is carried on under private auspices, and the less by government. We don't want to lose our separate identity as a university wanting to make contacts outside of government."

Nigeria Wants Control

Host countries like Nigeria also want to be assured of a certain amount of control, Monro said, but "a responsible program can be developed through the Peace Corps, with the government paying salaries." He emphasized, however, that "it is important the colleges have a hand."

Pusey last week called student interest, in terms of actual willingness to participate in the Corps, "slight." Monro said this was due to the present vagueness of the plan and that "once the program is developed, people will be there."

"Harvard will work inside or outside the national Peace Corps," Monro said. He pointed out independent programs in Nigeria, Guinea, and Mall.