CBSE Class 12 physics paper ‘extremely hard’, leaves students jittery; board gets court case warning

NEW DELHI: CBSE Class 12 physics paper 2025 has sparked a row over its allegedly extreme difficulty level, with students heavily criticising the board. Several candidates have raised eyebrows on the difficulty level of the CBSE Board exam 2025 and claimed that questions were out-of-syllabus. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) conducted the 12th physics paper on February 21.

Apparently, the difficulty of this year’s CBSE Class 12 physics paper was so high that an entrepreneur has warned the central board of a show-cause notice and criminal case if it doesn’t issue a statement and ensure fair evaluation. On the other hand, a teacher’s association has written to CBSE demanding leniency in evaluating the students’ answer sheets and grace marks for questions not covered under the prescribed syllabus.

Urging students, parents, and teachers to join the fight against the board, a Metaverse founder posted on X, “If CBSE does not make a statement admitting to the disastrous Class 12 Physics exam and announce immediate corrective measures, including fair evaluation, then I, in public interest, will send a show-cause notice to CBSE and file a criminal case in court for their repeated assault on students’ futures. This institutional negligence has gone on for decades, enough is enough!”

A physics teacher was left disheartened over the issue. He said in a post, “CBSE’s 12th Physics paper was extremely tough, leaving many students demotivated and even struggling with depression. The inconsistency between exam sets raises serious questions. Why should students be evaluated based on luck? It's disheartening & unfair.”

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An X user raised a complaint about a specific question claiming it to be out-of-syllabus. “Why was an RC circuit question included in Set 3 of the Class 12 Physics exam when it's not in the syllabus? Also, Set 3 was harder than others. This is unfair to students. Please address this,” the user wrote and tagged the board.

A Congress member shared a screenshot showing the topics listed by a Class 12 student and asking where these topics are in the syllabus. “Why is CBSE playing with careers of young children?,” he said and asked CBSE to check the variation between sets of CBSE physics question paper.

“CBSE really did us dirty with this Physics paper. Not a single familiar question, nothing like NCERT, and we had to solve it in 3 hours? Even the SQP was a lie—way easier than this nightmare. CBSE doesn’t care about students' mental health, just about making exams pure torture,” wrote another X user.

Letter to CBSE

In a letter to the controller of examinations, Digital Kadai brought the board’s attention to the following issues with the physics paper:

Excessive difficulty in case study based questions:

Question 29 in section D was ‘notably’ complex, making it challenging even for high-achievers. The questions lacked alignment with NCERT textbooks, making preparation inadequate.

Lengthy and time-consuming questions:

Many questions were lengthy, making it difficult for students to complete the paper within the three-hour time limit.

High-standard numerical problems:

The level of several numerical problems was exceptionally advanced. Not just students but teachers could not solve them accurately.

Out-of-Syllabus questions identified:

• Set 55/6/1: Question 2 and 17 (Topic: Grouping of Resistance)
• Set 55/6/2: Question 7 (Topic: Grouping of Resistance)
• Set 55/6/3: Question 1 and 8 (Topic: Grouping of Resistance)

These questions were beyond the prescribed Class 12 syllabus, resulting in confusion among students.

Errors and ambiguities in questions:

• Question 30(ii) (All Sets): Two options seemed correct, leading to confusion.
• Question 26 (Set 55/6/2): Incomplete statement, causing uncertainty.

A chemical reaction lacked complete information. The absence of ‘Q’ in a reaction caused unnecessary confusion among students.

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“Given these serious concerns, we fear that a fair evaluation of students' performance may be compromised, potentially resulting in undue stress and failure rates,” the teachers’ body said. Besides lenient evaluation criteria and grace marks, it also asked the board to ensure setting a balanced paper in future, one which aligns with the syllabus and is fair.

“The well-being and academic future of thousands of students are at stake. We sincerely request your prompt intervention to ensure justice and fair assessment. Your cooperation in addressing these concerns will be greatly appreciated,” the Digital Kadai further stated.