MASKEW MILLER LEARNING: Transformational SA Education Business to Boom After Brand Overhaul
Maskew Miller Learning is set to grow significantly with a range of new products and services for South African learners. Group Executive: Corporate and Public Sector, Ruth Shogoe tells Enterprise Africa that this very South African company is aiming for very promising results as it begins a new era after a rebrand and restructure.
Supported by:
In early 2017, Enterprise Africa spoke to key international educational publisher, Pearson, and its regional division in South Africa to discover more about the amazing work being done to guide learners through life in learning, from early development to higher education and eventual employability and beyond. Then-MD Ebrahim Matthews spoke of the company’s commitment to quality and an ongoing focus on digital learning.
Today, Pearson in South Africa has been through several changes, now recognised as Maskew Miller Learning, but the dedication to quality remains. In 2022, following Pearson’s consolidation in global markets, Novus Holdings acquired a 75% shareholding in the South African operation, and Maskew Miller Learning was launched. The mandate was clear: deliver trusted, quality educational resources and materials for a brighter future through learning.
“If there is a company to watch in this industry it is Maskew Miller Learning,” smiles Ruth Shogoe – Group Executive: Corporate and Public Sector. “The people are here, the desire is here, the expertise and resilience remain, and we want to make a difference in South Africa.”
An economist by training, MBA holder, currently studying at the London School of Economics, and with a background across finance and HR, Shogoe is conscious of the impact of education and understands the heavy impact that the company’s work can have.
“We have been through a lot as a business but we have always been local. Maskew Miller Learning (MML) is a South African organisation, and that is a key advantage for us. We can solve local challenges in the local way. We sit in the right rooms, in the right forums, and we contribute,” she says.
LEARNING & TEACHING
The past four years have been particularly challenging for the company. While it goes about teaching others and inspiring communities around the best way to deliver content to hungry minds, it has been on a learning journey itself. The Covid-19 pandemic combined with uncertainty about the future made for a difficult environment. At the same time, the diverse range of institutions and infrastructure in South Africa makes for a challenge in terms of product, finding the best ways to reach as many possible, in the format they need. On top of all of this, the company had to reassure and reconnect to guarantee clients knew the business would continue following the rebrand.
“The years through Covid were challenging and a lot of people needed support remotely. We did that pretty well, but having to work remotely changes the dynamic and makes things more complicated. Trying to work remotely with global teams was difficult and continuity was a problem – a lot of companies did go through this, and it did impact culture,” says Shogoe.
“After lockdown, having to restore our work environment and the culture has been tough but we have done very well considering we have just moved from a global to a local organisation.”
When the company reopened its offices, Shogoe was happy, and felt the collaboration and creativity that the company was famed for flow back into the environment.
“We started working on the rebrand and we changed everything – our name, our values, our mission. It was a team approach and was not left to marketing or HR,” she explains. “Everyone participated and it was collaborative and inclusive – and that is great. We workshopped the rebrand and change management processes, and it has been hard, but we have done everything we could as a team. Our people are at the heart of everything we do and at the forefront of everything we stand for.”
These people – the same people that have been with the company for many years, spreading influence as Pearson and now continuing rollout as MML – are the heart and head of the business. They are local and they are smart – a powerful combination for an educational material organisation. The company does not regurgitate international texts or copy the gamified online learning of some international players. Instead, MML delivers textbooks and digital materials that help learners to achieve their goals. Thoroughly researched, stringently tested, and effectively delivered, MML focuses on both students and teachers.
“I have never seen so much resilience from an organisation,” admits Shogoe. “Maskew Miller takes its name from the most trusted and recognised publisher in South Africa, established in 1893. Over the years, the resilience and sustainability of the offerings has always been intact. There have been changes over the years, but the business is still here and still very strong in terms of quality.
“We have people who have been with the business for over 30 years and they are very effective. We work with very smart people – doctors, professors, thought leaders, subject matter experts – and they contribute so much to their fields. Our creativity is endless and we are here to do everything we can.”
UNDERSTANDING THE BRIEF
Right now, there is major pressure on educational institutions and providers to deliver in South Africa. The country is witnessing an emigration problem, with skilled and talented people moving abroad in seek of better opportunities. It was estimated in 2015 that the country was lacking around 46,000 teachers, and the problem continues today with sub-Saharan Africa highlighted by UNESCO as an area requiring major overhaul to attract and develop more teachers. In South Africa, the system has been criticised for producing poor results, and so Shogoe sees an opportunity to assist with high-quality material.
“The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) report came out detailing challenges in the foundational learning space. Maskew Miller Learning has always been prepared and we have an offering for readers, in different African languages, which no competitors have ready. We are able to solve instantly for many challenges that the education space is faced with. By rebranding and repurposing our content, we have offerings for mathematics, robotics and many other subjects.
“Alongside curriculum-based printed materials and e-learning content and tools, we also offer teacher training and early childhood learning. There is a lot that we try to do within the South African educational economy.”
Strongly connected to the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and influencers of the National Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), the team at Maskew Miller Learning has entrenched itself in the South African industry and produces in all languages. To further its reach, the company is also the proud driver of the Marang Education Trust, a CSI initiative that aims to improve educational outcomes in under-resourced schools. This, says Shogoe, is another source of competitive advantage for the wider business.
“We support the Trust with pure authentic motive. It is fully-funded by MML and we have employees who go into deep rural areas in SA and enable teachers and learners. They go in for a cycle of around four years and ensure teacher development is well implemented as well as learner support. They are South Africa Council for Educators (SACE)-accredited and well-qualified, often doctoral level, and they are part of MML. We don’t only want to be commercial and make profits. We invest in the communities where no one goes. The trust works closely with the DBE and they report the work of the trust.”
This work is wide ranging and can include courses or workshops around psychological issues and other wellness initiatives, or anything that is required in the schools that the schools cannot typically afford. “This is not an afterthought,” reiterates Shogoe, adding that the existence of the trust displays MML’s intentional approach, planning for targeted and desired outcomes throughout the year. A Level 1 BBBEE company, MML is well-positioned to reach learners across South Africa’s entire spectrum from Grade R to Matric and beyond.
“Our motto is ‘better learning, brighter futures’, and our aim is to allow our learners to move forward by providing trusted, quality educational resources and material. We focus on schools, we focus on technical and vocational education, and we focus on higher education – we are truly specialised,” says Shogoe.
BLENDED LEARNING
A slight adjustment in strategy since 2017, the company is embracing both digital and traditional reading and learning. Previously, the focus under Pearson was to build strong digital assets but now MML has the digital tools required. However, it understands the local market and therefore takes a blended approach.
“We always speak of the blended approach,” confirms Shogoe. “We have two types of people in this world – those who love print and reading textbooks and those who are digital and can read a book in a day because it’s online. We believe strongly that a blended approach is the future of learning and we must make sure we cater for all of our users. We remain big printers – books, materials, magazines etc. We have to consider that in our rural areas in South Africa there is no connectivity. We would love to go online locally and globally, but the reality is that there are areas where that kind of change is not an option. Even though some areas have achieved some new ways of doing things, they prefer to have the traditional methods as a baseline.”
She adds that, following the rebrand and the emergence of MML, the time is right to re-establish and reintroduce the company as an industry leader.
“It is for us to put ourselves out there and show that we have the content. We have e-content and digital assets, and we have lots of offerings that South Africa would not typically have been ready for – we have it and now is the time to use it. A lot of SA schools, within the DBE, are now ready to say: ‘let’s consider, let’s explore’. Our people have been working tirelessly and we are ready to help solve problems in education.”
Going forward, Shogoe is confident. She speaks of several exciting upcoming developments that will help the business to grow, and a purpose-driven mission that will achieve significant societal outcomes.
“Our offering as a group is to solve real socio-economic challenges in society, and education is at the forefront of all of that.
“The work we do is for our readers – students. It could be a lecturer, a professor, a working professional, a school. It could be for businesses who need tailor-made training on specific subjects. When our people are happy and our beneficiaries are happy, we are winning.”
Clearly, the rebrand and the restructure has not impacted ambition and, if anything, has only catalysed MML as part of the beating heart in South Africa’s educational system.