New name, same game – Pearson South Africa rebrands to Maskew Miller Learning, signifying a new era of growth and innovation in learning
Pearson South Africa, formerly a part of the global education company, Pearson, is proud to announce that it has officially changed its name to Maskew Miller Learning. This move is the result of a 75% sale of its South African courseware publishing business to local print production company, Novus Print (Pty) Ltd.
“We take great pride in the difference we make in the education sector and understand how much more needs to be done,” says Nitesh Ramlagan, General Manager of Maskew Miller Learning.
The company creates and distributes textbooks, course materials and other learning resources used in schools, TVET colleges and universities. These resources are essential for students to learn and understand the material being taught, and for educators to effectively teach it.
The sale is a result of Pearson’s strategic review of its International Courseware publishing businesses around the world. The portion of the business that was sold in South Africa includes its K12, higher education, and technical vocational education and training catalogue. This includes trusted local courseware such as Platinum, Spot On, Day-by-Day, Today, Focus, Vuma, Smart-Kids, X-kit Achieve! and Fresh Perspectives, to name a few.
As learning materials provide a driving force for educational success, Ramlagan says Maskew Miller Learning will continue creating and publishing content in all eleven national languages for learners from Preschool to Grade 12, as well as content for the TVET curriculum and higher education institutions. What’s more, this content will continue to be created in partnership with the Department of Education, teachers, learners, students, and parents.
“As a leading South African learning company, we do not only develop and create content and study materials. We are tasked with the critical responsibility of setting standards for education by curating and promoting high quality resources. We aspire to continue doing this with excellence across various education levels for decades to come,” he says.
In the TVET and Higher Education space specifically Ramlagan says the company’s mission is to provide effective curriculum content, services and solutions that are designed to enrich teaching and engage students enabling them to flourish in the working world. “There has been no change in management or the range of trusted learning products and services on offer because we know how effective and important this department is,” he says.
In 2022, the organisation saw significant growth across all critical strategic objectives. “Despite widespread economic challenges, we managed to exceed sales targets in Limpopo, Eastern Cape, and North-West. We also managed to position ourselves as a coding and robotics leader by creating the Smart-Kids coding and robotic workbooks,” he says.
“In 2022, we also achieved Level 1 Broad Based Economic Empowerment status through intentional and sterling efforts made by our human resources and transformation team. We were able to invest in talent by hosting our second virtual internship program and expanded our bursary programme,” he adds.
In 2023 and in the future, Ramlagan says Maskew Miller Learning will remain committed to growing its digital portfolio and maintaining the print collection. “We will focus on eBook sales, invest in digital asset platforms and leverage partnerships to establish our international footprint.”
From a print perspective, he says the business will invest in creating content to support the curriculum and opportunities, continuing its training and professional development and leveraging the existing brand’s success.
“We are seeing a rise in the blended learning model and believe it presents endless opportunities to the education sector. In the coming years, we plan to tap into blended learning even more by integrating our eBooks and digital assets with our print material and creating a complete and scalable solution,” he says.
He says Maskew Miller Learning is a 100% South African-owned organisation. “We understand the market and can address the challenges head-on with the support of the Novus Group.”
“A smooth transition from Pearson to Novus will be solidified by building the new Maskew Miller Learning brand identity under the Novus umbrella and identifying harmony between the two successful South African businesses. It will be driven by passion and purpose,” says Novus Group CEO Neil Birch.
Ramlagan says Maskew Miller Learning lends its name from the most trusted and recognisable publisher in South African education, Maskew Miller.
“Maskew Miller Learning will not only continue to provide trusted learning material, but this strategic realignment has opened an opportunity to provide products and services that are even more meaningful to the local industry and can make a real difference as we help mould the leaders of tomorrow. We look forward to focusing even more on how we can turn education into opportunity as we help South Africa realise its potential.”
