The students embarked on a hunger strike 7 days ago due to historical debt.

They are calling on universities for assistance, but they claim that the institutions are not interested.

Channel Africa's Lulu Gaboo spoke to Education Activist Hendrick Makaneta on Africa Update.

"This is a yearly recurring problem. We know that every year we see the same situation where students are not able to pay or to pay half of the amount that is required by the university. I'm talking about the historic debt. Because I know that some of the students want to carry on with their postgraduate studies. And then we think that the government must really find a way. They should not see paying for students as an additional burden on the on the fifth class but rather as an investment for the future," says Makaneta.

--SABC--