Normal school resumed on Wednesday at Caprivi Senior Secondary School after a two-day temporary closure.
The education directorate in the Zambezi region closed down the institution for two days amid a sewage spill.
However, the hostel is still closed until further notice to allow cleaning of the manholes after they were unblocked.
NBC News is informed that they have never been cleaned since renovation. Hostel students who come from outside town are accommodated at the hostel since they are few.
Katima Mulilo Circuit inspector for education Rosco Lukubwe said the school closure will allow the works department and town council to work on unblocking the system.
He added that if need be, they will approach the regional council for an emergency procurement allocation to resolve the matter.
Works inspector at the Education Directorate, Likukela Matongo, said as an immediate solution, there is a need to install a pump station at the manhole that connects the sewer reticulation network from the school to the Katima Mulilo town council's system.
"What needs to happen there is that the sewer manhole, which is in question, which is blocked, has to be emptied completely up to the benchmark so that the technicians can then go into the benchmark and remove all the debris which has accumulated at the benching between the pipelines of the two manholes."
Matongo added that despite the school being renovated less than three years ago, the property has started to deteriorate due to vandalism.
He cited a similar situation at Mayuni Senior Secondary School hostel, which was also recently renovated.
"Our children are such vandals; they have a serious vandalism mentality to a point where, for this hostel from 2022, this is not more than 3 years old, but when you go there, like you said, you think that it is not renovated. There was a complete renovation there. Changing all plumbing, all showers, all laundry doors, all windows and everything else, but when you go there right now, it looks 10 years old.
The grease that is coming from the kitchen, once it coats all those mattresses and all that debris, creates rocks and lumps that are easily susceptible to blocking because the sewer network works on gravity. If there are no heavy materials, if they are not carried by the water by gravity, it means they lump up and cause a blockage."
While addressing the learners, Lukubwe cautioned them on being part of the problem.
"The problem we have to a bigger extent is caused by us, the learners, and I will take you to go and see the problem. I was at the boys' side there; the mattresses are being cut piece by piece, and you ask, "Where do those pieces go?" Very good, they go in the toilet."