From about the 1930s the vast majority of schools serving Black students in South Africa were run by missions and often operated with state aid. Most children, however, did not attend these schools. In 1949 the government appointed a commission, headed by anthropologist W.W.M. Eiselen, to study and make recommendations for the education of native South Africans. The Eiselen Commission Report (1951) urged the government to take charge of education for Black South Africans in order to make it part of a general socioeconomic plan for the country. In addition, the report stated that the schooling should be tailored toward the needs and values of the cultures of the communities in which the schools were located. The prescriptions of the commission were generally followed by the Bantu Education Act.