ISC Class 12 Political Science Syllabus 2024: Students are well into a new session year and preparing for the 2024 examinations. Many students and teachers are unfamiliar with the latest syllabus as it’s been regularly revised since the lockdown period.
The Council For The Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) holds annual higher secondary Indian School Certificate (ISC) exams for class 12. The board also sets the curriculum and has released the updated syllabus for the 2023-24 exam session. One of the main subjects in class 12 is Political Science (code: 852) which is a core component of the humanities stream.
ISC class 12 Political Science is a must for students hoping to pursue a career in politics, teaching, civil services, social work, law etc. Political Science is largely a theory-heavy subject but is quite fascinating. It teaches students about the working of the Constitution and other government institutions. But just because it’s a humanities subject, it doesn’t mean you should take it lightly. Silly mistakes can cost you top marks.
But the first step in your exam preparation should be to check the reduced and revised ISC Class 12th political science syllabus. You can get it here in PDF format, along with the important topics and practical details.
ISC Board Class 12 Political Science Syllabus
- The ISC class 12 Political Science course is divided into two papers: theory and project work. Paper 1: Theory consists of 80 marks and a duration of 3 hours. The project work carries 20 marks.
- The theory paper is further divided into two parts.
- Part I (20 marks) consists of compulsory short answer questions to test the fundamental aspects of the entire syllabus.
- Part II (60 marks) features two sections – A and B, each carrying five questions of 12 marks.
- Candidates will be given a choice to attempt two questions from each Section and one question from either Section A or Section B. A total of five questions have to be attempted from Part II.
Check here the 2024 ISC Board Class 12 Political Science Syllabus.
SECTION A
Constitution and Government
- Forms of Government
Totalitarian and Authoritarian States, Liberal Democratic State, Unitary and Federal States, Parliamentary and Presidential forms of government.
Meaning and features of Totalitarian State, Authoritarian State and Liberal Democratic State.
Comparison between Totalitarian and Authoritarian States. Historic and contemporary examples of each.
Meaning and features of Unitary and Federal States with reference to U.K. as a Unitary state, U.S.A. as a Federal State and India as a federal state with subsidiary unitary features, comparison between unitary and federal state.
Meaning and features of Parliamentary and Presidential forms of government (U.K. and U.S.A.). Comparison between Parliamentary and Presidential forms of government.
- Constitution
Meaning; kinds of Constitutions: Written and Unwritten, Rigid and Flexible, Enacted and Evolved: merits and demerits. Amending procedures; Conventions.
Meaning; kinds: Written and Unwritten, Rigid and Flexible, Enacted and Evolved: merits, demerits of each. Is the difference between Written and Unwritten, Rigid and Flexible a real one?
Amending procedures of the Constitutions of U.K., U.S.A and India.
Conventions: meaning and examples with reference to U.K., U.S.A. and India. The importance of Conventions in U.K.
- Franchise and Representation
Universal Adult Franchise; Methods of Election; Constituency; Minority Representation. Political Parties; Party System.
Universal Adult Franchise – meaning, reasons for widespread acceptance.
Methods of Election: Direct and Indirect – meaning with examples.
Meaning of Constituency, Single member and Multi-member with examples.
First Past the Post System – meaning, merits and demerits.
Minority Representation – meaning, rationale (Why is it important for minorities to be represented properly).
Methods of Minority Representation: Proportional Representation (List system and single transferable vote system), Cumulative Vote System, Nomination and Reservation.
Political Parties – meaning, definition and functions. Kinds – Single party, Bi-party, Multi-party system – meaning, merits and demerits.
Organs of the Government
- The Legislature
Functions of Legislature; Unicameral and Bicameral legislatures. The legislature in India and U.S.A. – a comparative study.
Meaning and functions of Legislature. Meaning of Unicameral and Bi-cameral legislature. The legislatures in India and U.S.A.- Composition (strength, method of election and tenure) and functions: legislative, constituent, executive (ways in which the legislature controls the executive), judicial, electoral and financial.
Composition and powers of the House of Representatives and the Senate, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha (including special powers).
Unique powers of the Senate, why is the Senate considered the world’s most powerful second chamber?
Comparison of the Rajya Sabha and the U.S. Senate; Lok Sabha with the U.S. House of Representatives.
- The Executive
Functions; The Civil Services. Difference between the Political Executive and the Permanent Executive. Political Executive in India and U.S.A. – a comparative study.
Meaning, and functions of the Executive. Meaning and role of Civil Services.
Difference between the Political and Permanent Executive in India. Political Executive in India and U.S.A. – a comparative study. Powers and functions of executive heads of India (President and Prime Minister), and U.S.A. (President). Constitutional limitations on the powers of the President of the USA.
Changing role of the Indian Prime Minister with reference to the past two decades.
- The Judiciary
Meaning and functions of Judiciary. Conditions of Independence of Judiciary. Judiciary in India and U.S.A. – a comparative study. Judicial Review.
Meaning and functions of judiciary; conditions of independence of judiciary with reference to India and U.S.A. The Judiciary in India and U.S.A. – composition and powers of Indian Supreme Court and American Supreme Court. Judicial Review – meaning, principles (maxims) and critical evaluation with special reference to U.S.A. and India. Meaning of Judicial Activism and Judicial Restraint. Comparative study of Indian and US Supreme Courts – Which is most powerful and Why?
SECTION B
Indian Democracy
- Indian Constitution
(i) Preamble
Preamble and its importance. Meaning of the key words contained in the Preamble.
(ii) Salient features of the Indian Constitution.
Written and Comprehensive; a Constitution drawn from several sources; Federal structure with Unitary spirit; Partly rigid and Partly flexible; Fundamental Rights and Duties; Directive Principles of State Policy; Parliamentary form of Government; Single Citizenship; Bi-cameral legislature; Universal Adult Franchise; Single Integrated and Independent Judiciary; Judicial Review; Emergency powers; Special provisions for Schedule castes and Schedule tribes.
- Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles
Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy.
Fundamental Rights: meaning and importance of Fundamental Rights; detailed study of all Fundamental Rights in India.
Directive Principles of State Policy: meaning and purpose; classification, importance and implementation.
Relationship between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy.
- Local self-government
73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts.
Key features of the 73rd and 74th Amendments. 11th and 12th schedules in brief.
Three tier systems of Panchayati Raj: Rural and Urban local bodies – their composition. Challenges and solutions.
- Democracy in India – a perspective of the challenges faced
(i) Challenges faced by the Indian Democracy: Caste, Communalism, Regionalism and Political Violence. Strengthening Indian Democracy.
Caste: meaning, role of caste in Indian Politics.
Communalism: meaning and effects on the functioning of Indian democracy.
Regionalism: meaning and causes; kinds of regional aspirations (language issues, sons-of-the-soil policies, river water disputes, demand for new states, secessionist demands); responding to regionalism.
Political Violence: meaning, forms, causes and effects.
Strengthening Indian Democracy: measures to overcome the challenges faced by Indian Democracy.
PAPER II (PROJECT WORK) – 20 MARKS
Candidates will be required to undertake one project which may be any one of the following:
(i) A case study.
(ii) Survey study with a questionnaire.
(iii) Research based project with in-depth analysis.
(iv) Local/ national/ global political issue.
(v) Book review/ film review/ documentaries/ posters/ newspapers/ advertisements/ cartoons and art.
The project must not be based primarily on the syllabus; students must be encouraged to produce original, creative and insightful perspectives on an allied aspect of the topic.
For example, if the theme is Fundamental Rights, the project could deal with violation, protection, court verdicts, Public Interest Litigations (PILs), etc. related to socially relevant issues.
The project will be assessed by the teacher and a Visiting Examiner appointed locally and approved by the Council.
Download and read the full ISC Class 12th Political Science Syllabus 2023-24.
