Decades ago, a group of enterprising ladies of Malleswaram locality decided that their contributions could not remain confined to the environs of home. They realized that they had the potential to contribute to the well-being of the larger society. They ventured out of the household in pursuit of their dream to make living more meaningful for women of that locality. They planned to start a society that would provide an opportunity for the women to express their latent talents and in the process, empowering themselves.

The first step towards the fulfillment of this dream was the formatiion of the Malleswaram Ladies' Association in 1927, from then on began a saga of service that initially organized classes in English, Hindi, Craft Training, Tailoring and soon, and evolved to spawn a host of educational institutions at every level starting from the Primary School to the First Grade College.

The latest entrant to the MLA Group of Institutions is the MLA Academy of Higher Learning.