The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has responded after videos circulating online showed a QR code printed on a Class 12 Mathematics question paper redirecting users to a music video on YouTube. The board said it is taking the matter seriously and will take steps to prevent similar issues in the future.
The incident came to light shortly after the Class 12 Mathematics examination held on Monday, when students and social media users discovered that scanning one of the QR codes on the question paper opened a link to a well-known internet prank video.
“Many security features are provided on the question papers. These include QR codes to verify the genuineness of the question paper in case of suspected security breach,” the Board said in a statement.
Board says question paper security not compromised
The board clarified that the presence of the unexpected link does not mean that the exam paper was fake or compromised. Officials emphasised that the QR codes printed on examination papers are part of internal security measures designed to verify authenticity.
“In a few question paper sets, it appears that when one of the given QR codes is scanned, it links to a YouTube video. It appears that this has raised concerns about the veracity of the question papers…,” the statement read.
“It is hereby confirmed by the Board that the question papers are genuine. The security of the question papers remains uncompromised,” it added.
QR code led to ‘rickrolling’ prank video
According to sources familiar with the process, the QR code system is typically used as an internal verification tool for exam authorities. In this case, scanning the code redirected users to a music video of the 1987 song “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley.
CBSE sources said the QR codes are sometimes linked to internal references that help officials confirm the authenticity of exam papers.
“The QR code can lead to something…a random code or anything else that is known internally to verify that the paper is genuine. In this case, the QR code led to the music video. The security of the question paper has not been compromised, but we have cautioned the internal unit dealing with this that such links are not to be used in future to determine that the paper is genuine,” a source added.
The prank, commonly referred to as “rickrolling,” involves redirecting users to the classic music video instead of the content they expect. The viral nature of the video quickly drew attention on social media after students shared clips showing the QR code scan result.