NEW DELHI: It is not every day that a board exam and an internet prank end up in the same sentence. But that is exactly what happened after India’s Class 12 Mathematics board exam on March 9, 2026, when students discovered that scanning a QR code on their question paper appeared to open a YouTube video of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up,” the song at the heart of one of the internet’s most beloved pranks, the rickroll.

Screenshots spread fast. Reddit lit up with students sharing images and jokes about being rickrolled in the middle of one of the most important exams of their academic lives. For a few hours, it was equal parts funny and concerning.

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The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) moved quickly to address the chaos. In an official notification, the board confirmed that the Class 12 maths question papers are completely genuine and that the security of the exam remains fully intact. CBSE explained that question papers carry multiple built-in security features, including QR codes designed to verify authenticity in the event of a suspected breach.

The board acknowledged that in a limited number of question paper sets, one of those QR codes appeared to redirect to a YouTube link. It gave no explanation for how that happened, but was clear that it had no bearing on the legitimacy of the papers themselves.

Adding to the confusion was the fact that many students reported their QR codes simply displayed alphabet markers like “A” and “Q,” with no link to any video at all. This left it unclear whether the viral screenshots represented a genuine glitch, a one-off technical error, or something else entirely.

CBSE said the concerns raised by students and parents have been taken seriously and that steps are being taken to make sure nothing like this happens again in future exams.

For most students though, the rickroll will be the story they tell for years.