PSEB SS Public Admin study plan
PSEB SS Public Admin · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Public Administration
Map the full Public Administration syllabus into a one-page topic tree covering principles, theories, personnel, financial, and administrative-law units
Define and write out in your own words the ten core concepts most frequently tested (state, bureaucracy, public policy, accountability, delegation, span of control, hierarchy, line and staff, centralization, POSDCORB)
Build a personal glossary of 40 terms with one-line definitions and a real example for each
Schedule five 80-minute study blocks across the week and log actual time spent against the plan
Your checkpoint
A dated one-page syllabus map plus a 40-term glossary with examples, both saved as a single reviewable document
Public Administration
Compare the classical school (Taylor, Fayol, Weber, Gulick and Urwick) and the human-relations school (Mayo, Barnard, Simon) in a two-column comparative table
Explain how each school's assumptions changed the practice of public administration, with one concrete administrative example per school
Summarize the Hawthorne studies and identify the specific conclusions drawn about informal organization and motivation
Answer five short-answer questions on administrative theory under timed conditions and self-mark against your glossary
Your checkpoint
A comparative theory table covering at least six thinkers plus five timed short answers with a corrected error list
Public Administration
Trace the evolution of public administration as a discipline from Woodrow Wilson's 1887 essay through the politics-administration dichotomy debate to the New Public Management critique
Distinguish public and private administration across at least six dimensions with a written example for each dimension
Explain the New Public Management reforms (market orientation, performance measurement, contracting out) and their criticisms
Draft and memorize a one-page timeline of key dates, authors, and turning points
Your checkpoint
A one-page dated timeline plus a 250-word written answer on whether the politics-administration dichotomy is still useful
Public Administration
Explain the structure of the bureaucracy and the classification of administrative organizations (line, staff, auxiliary, regulatory) with examples
Describe the recruitment, training, promotion, and disciplinary processes in public personnel administration
Compare the merit system and the spoils system and explain how each affects neutrality and responsiveness
Complete a 30-question mixed practice set on organization and personnel and record your score by subtopic
Your checkpoint
A scored 30-question practice set with an error log listing every missed concept and the corrected definition
Public Administration
Explain the budget cycle stage by stage (preparation, enactment, execution, audit) and identify the actors at each stage
Distinguish line-item, performance, and zero-based budgeting and state one strength and one weakness of each
Describe the role of the legislature, the finance ministry, and the auditor general in financial accountability
Write a 300-word answer explaining how financial control mechanisms prevent administrative abuse, then reduce it to a ten-point outline from memory
Your checkpoint
A one-page budget-cycle diagram plus a 300-word written answer and its ten-point recall outline
Public Administration
Explain administrative law fundamentals: delegated legislation, natural justice, judicial review, and administrative tribunals
List the grounds on which administrative action can be challenged and give an example of each ground
Describe the role of the ombudsman, the central vigilance or anti-corruption body, and legislative committees in ensuring accountability
Draft a 20-item rapid-recall sheet of accountability mechanisms and test yourself twice without notes
Your checkpoint
A 20-item accountability recall sheet scored twice, with a written note of any items still unstable
Public Administration
Integrate all units by writing two full-length timed practice papers under exam conditions
Analyze every wrong answer to classify the error as knowledge gap, misreading, or time pressure
Rehearse answer structure for essay questions: definition, dimensions, examples, evaluation, and conclusion
Revise the glossary, timeline, and recall sheets in three spaced sessions
Your checkpoint
Two completed timed practice papers with a classified error analysis and a prioritized list of the five weakest subtopics
Public Administration
Close the five weakest subtopics identified in week 7 with targeted rereading and rewritten notes
Complete one final full-length mock and finish with at least ten minutes to spare
Recite the glossary, timeline, and accountability sheet from memory in a single uninterrupted session
Assemble a one-page pre-exam summary sheet covering only high-frequency definitions and frameworks
Your checkpoint
A final mock score report plus a one-page pre-exam summary sheet, both reviewed the day before the test
Milestones
Week 2: You can explain the classical versus human-relations schools and name at least six thinkers with their core contributions without notes, and you scored at least 60% on the week 2 timed short answers
Week 4: You scored at least 65% on the 30-question organization and personnel practice set and your error log shows no repeated concept twice
Week 6: You scored at least 80% on the 20-item accountability recall sheet on the second attempt and can outline the budget cycle from memory in under five minutes
Week 8: Your final mock is at or above your target passing margin, every weak subtopic from week 7 is marked resolved, and you can recite the glossary and timeline from memory in one session