Students Protesting Around The World In 2012 (PHOTOS)

Last week, the "casserole protests" returned to Montreal, Quebec just as students around the world prepare to return to campuses.

College students in Quebec began marching through streets banging pots and pans back in the spring in response to the provincial government's introduction of Bill 78 -- a controversial law that scaled back free speech rights. The casserole protests are inspired by the "cacerolazos" of Chile in 1971.

Students in Quebec have been on strike while protesting against a proposal to increase tuition by C$325 a year over several years. Within five years, university tuition would increase by nearly 60 percent -- something to which American college students can certainly relate.

American protests against tuition increases and education cuts are commonplace by now, and students around the world have joined the cause of education reform in the face of ballooning costs.

Take a look at what student activists have been protesting around the world in the slideshow below: