CBSE ‘Rickrolled’ Students Class 12 Maths Paper QR Code Leads to Rick Astley’s Viral Song

The surprising connection set off a classic internet prank called “Rickrolling,” in which users were manipulated into clicking open the now famous 1987 music video rather than what was expected of them. Shortly after the exam finished, screenshots and videos of the QR code scan started running viral on social media platforms, such as X (Twitter), Instagram and Reddit, sending a deluge of memes and jokes online.

Several exam centre students, like those in Ghaziabad said they found out the prank after friends mentioned it later in the day.

One student, anonymous, said: “I didn’t find out about the QR code issue until the evening. Later on my classmates gave me the scan of it and it opened an English song video."

But Central Board of Secondary Education soon responded to ensure exam security. Examination Controller Dr Sanyam Bhardwaj confirmed in an official statement that the question papers have been authentic and that no compromise was done to the examination system. 

The board said that the problem seems to be confined to a handful of question paper sets where the QR code incorrectly linked to the YouTube video. Officials said that not all students experienced the same problem.

 According to teachers, the QR code on CBSE question papers is not for students; it also is used for internal verification. These codes typically have encrypted information including the exam subject, paper set, date of printing, and printing batch, which assists authorities in tracing and authenticating paper distribution.

A mathematics teacher at a private school in Ghaziabad suggested the situation could be a technical error that was overlooked. "The QR code is intended for exam authorities to confirm authenticity. There was apparently some oversight. The board needs to make sure things are checked, to prevent such embarrassment," he said.

 It also stated that the matter is being taken seriously and the necessary steps being implemented to ensure that this does not happen again.

CBSE introduced QR codes on question papers to protect itself from exposure following the 2018 CBSE Question Paper Leak Scandal, in which Class 12 Economics and Class 10 Mathematics papers were leaked online prior to the exams and the board had to re-conduct one of the tests. 

Though the recent incident didn’t affect the integrity of the exam, it did turn a serious environment at the board exam into something that became a viral internet moment.