By the end of white minority rule in 1994 South Africa and its ten independent homelands had eighteen departments of education. Four of these were national, four more were provincial and ten were homeland departments. After black majority rule came about in 1994 a new, single, national department was established, and it was named Department of Education (DoE). The three former national departments and the homeland departments were ipso facto abolished. In December 1994, the four provinces were altered. Two were renamed but retained their boundaries, and the other two were split into seven new provinces. Each province duly established its own department of education.