ICSE Class 12 Political Science Syllabus

ISC Class 12 Political Science Syllabus 

The ISC  Class 12 Political Science syllabus enables the students to understand the basic concepts of Political Science and  to acquire knowledge and understanding of government practices. It develops logical reasoning, research and application skills among students . In addition, it creates awareness of rights and duties and sensitizes students toward social concerns which helps expose students to different views and develop their own perspective.

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ISC Class 12 Political Science syllabus For Semester (1 and 2) 

ISC Class 12 Political Science Syllabus is represented in the table below:

A brief of the syllabus of ISC class 12 Political Science is as under. 

ISC Class 12 Political Science Syllabus Semester 1, Constitution and Government.

1. Types of Government

This unit covers the following topics. 

• Unitary and the Federal States
• Liberal Democratic State
• Totalitarian and Authoritarian States
• Presidential forms of government and Parliamentary.

 The Constitution

• Types of Constitutions 
  • Unwritten and Written
  • Flexible and Rigid
  • Evolved & Enacted 
• Merits and Demerits 
• Amending procedures
• Conventions.

3. Franchise and Representation

• Universal Adult Franchise
  • Constituency
  • Methods of Election
  • Minority Representation
  • Political Parties
  • Party System.
• Minority Representation – meaning, rationale and types
  • Proportional Representation
  • Nomination and Reservation & Cumulative Vote System
• Political Parties – meaning, functions & definition
  • Types – Single party, Bi-party, Multi-party system
  • Merits and demerits.

Organs of the Government

4. The Legislature

• Functions of Legislature
• Bicameral legislatures
• Unicameral legislature. 
• A comparative study of The legislature in India and the U.S.A. 
• Composition (strength, method of election and tenure) and functions (legislative, constituent, executive, judicial, electoral and financial), of the legislatures in these two countries – a comparative study.
• 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?

5. The Executive

This unit of  ISC Class 12 Political Science Syllabus covers: 

•  The difference between the Executive in India’s Permanent & Political Executives.
•  Comparative study of the Powers and functions of executive heads of India (President and Prime Minister) and the US (President). 
• The Indian prime minister’s role in the Coalition Era (1996 onwards) refers to the increasing role of regional political parties.

6. The Judiciary

• Meaning and importance of the Judiciary. 
• Conditions of Independence of Judiciary. 
• Judiciary in India and U.S.A. – a comparative study. 
• Judicial Review.

7. Indian Constitution

• Preamble
• Salient features of the Indian Constitution.

8. Fundamental  Rights and Directive Principles:  

• Directive Principles and Fundamental Rights of the State Policy.

9. Local self-government:

•  73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts.
• Local Self Government-Rural Zila Parishad
•  Urban Municipal Corporation

Under this unit of ISC Class 12 Political Science Syllabus, students learn about the three-tier system of Panchayati Raj: Rural and Urban local bodies – their composition and features of the 73rd and 74th Amendments. They also learn the various challenges and solutions of the constitutional amendment act.

10. Democracy in India – Challenges faced.

• Challenges faced by Indian Democracy
  • Communalism
  • Caste
  • Political Violence
  • Regionalism.

• Strengthening of Indian Democracy.

In addition to the ISC Class 12 Political Science Syllabus, students may refer to ISC Political Science book class 12 and various study materials pertaining to the syllabus on Extramarks. 

ISC Class 12 Political Science Syllabus Examination Marking Pattern

The ISC Class 12 Political Science examination is divided into two parts, Theory and Project work. The theory examination is further divided into two parts.

Paper-I (Theory) – 80 Marks 

• Part I (20 marks), which consists of  mandatory short answer questions, skills relating to elementary/ fundamental aspects of the entire syllabus and application, testing of knowledge. 
• Part II (60 marks) is bifurcated into sections A & B. Candidates must answer three questions out of 5 from  Section A and two questions out of three from Section B. Every question in this part carries 12 marks.

Project Work is 20 Marks. Students must undertake one project from the following: 

• Survey study with a questionnaire. 
• A case study. 
• Research-based project with in-depth analysis. 
• Book review/ film review/ posters/ documentaries/ advertisements/ cartoons, art and newspapers . 
• Local/ national/ global political issue 

Candidates should be motivated to be creative, insightful and produce original perspective on various aspects of the topic. The project will be evaluated by the class teacher and a  Visiting  Invigilator appointed and approved by the Council of boards.

Evaluation of Project Work will be done as follows:

Internal Evaluation by Teacher 10 Marks

Evaluation by Visiting Invigilator 10 Marks 

TOTAL 20 Marks

Students may refer to the ISC Class 12 Political Science Syllabus while preparing for their examination to ensure that they have covered all aspects of the syllabus.

ISC Class 12 Political Science Syllabus & Study Material 2022-2023

ISC Class 12 Political Science Syllabus defines the chapters and topics covered in the respective subject. In addition to classroom training, the students can depend on various study materials to prepare for the exams by reviewing the syllabus and ensuring that every topic is covered. Students may rely on Extramarks for authentic study material. Our revision notes help them understand the critical points in an easy to remember format.

Extramarks give the candidates an edge and help them gain confidence before appearing for their exams. Students may click on the link below to refer to the class 12 Political Science ICSE revision notes.

In addition to revision notes, candidates can access the following by clicking on the respective links. 

ISC & ICSE Syllabus

ICSE Solutions

ICSE sample question papers

ICSE important questions

ICSE question paper