New Delhi, Mar 10 (UNI) The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Tuesday clarified that question papers for the ongoing Class 12 board examinations are “genuine”, while addressing concerns raised on social media about their authenticity.
In an official circular dated March 10, the board dismissed claims of a security breach and said, “The question papers are genuine. The security of the question papers remains uncompromised.”
The clarification came after social media posts by students surfaced online along with a photograph of the Mathematics question paper. The posts claimed that scanning a QR code on the paper opened a YouTube video of Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley, a prank widely known on the internet as “rickrolling”.
Some students expressed surprise at what appeared to be an old internet prank embedded in an official CBSE paper, while others mocked the examination authorities’ ability to conduct national-level exams, posting videos showing how the QR code scan redirected them to the song.
The board acknowledged that in a few question paper sets, scanning one of the QR codes appeared to link to a YouTube video, but rejected claims of a security breach that had spread rapidly on social media platforms such as Reddit.
“Multiple security features are built into board exam question papers, including QR codes used to verify the authenticity of the document in case of any suspected breach,” said Sanyam Bhardwaj, Controller of Examinations, CBSE.
He added that the issue does not affect the veracity of the question papers. The board also said concerns raised by students and parents regarding the QR code have been taken seriously.
Reiterating that the authenticity of the papers remains intact, the board said necessary steps are being taken to ensure such issues do not recur in future examinations.
