Nagpur: CBSE found itself at the centre of an internet storm after a QR code printed on the Class 12 Mathematics question paper appeared to link to a YouTube video — effectively “rickrolling” whoever scanned it. Rickrolling is a long-running internet prank in which users are tricked into opening the music video of the song titled ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ by British singer Rick Astley instead of the content they expected. Social media had a field day over the March 9 question paper with some finding it hilarious, some wondering if ‘fake’ papers had made it to the exam hall while some wondered if the viral news was fake.On Tuesday, CBSE itself confirmed such a thing had indeed happened, but denied other rumours. Sanyam Bhardwaj, CBSE’s controller of examinations said, “The question papers are genuine, and security of question papers remains uncompromised.” In a statement, CBSE said in some sets, this issue cropped up. Question papers carry multiple security features, including QR codes whose primary purpose is to verify the genuineness of the paper if a security breach is suspected, the Board stated.Since last night, snapshots of the Mathematics paper were doing the rounds on the internet and there were many who were worried that a fake set of question papers had made their way inside classrooms, which CBSE officially denied.At the same time, there were many who found the entire thing funny. Shorts and reels on social media trended with lines such as “students get rickrolled”, followed by witty comments with some saying the board is trying to provide entertainment.So how did CBSE unintentionally end up “rickrolling” its board students? Bhardwaj said, “The matter has been viewed seriously and necessary steps are being taken to ensure such issues are not repeated.”
