Student life carried on as usual at Stellenbosch University on Monday after Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande's announcement on fee increases for 2017.

Students sat in the sun chatting and having lunch, discussing the merits of various courses, along with general chit-chat.

A group of students who watched the livestream in the Lilian Ngoyi auditorium seemed muted in their response to the news that the government would subsidise existing NSFAS beneficiaries and students whose parents earned less than R600 000 a year.

Families outside of those categories would have to wait for the individual universities to announce their own increases.

"He is just playing with us," said students in one group.

Another group outside the auditorium said they did not know what Nzimande had announced.

A woman, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the issue was not the percentage of the increase, but reaching the goal of free education.

She said most of the students who could not afford university fees were black.

"Students will not wait anymore," she said.

"I don't need fees to fall, but there are more students who cannot afford it."

Last year, university fee increases were frozen after nationwide student protests.