Interesting thread. I must admit (from my perspective as a PPL student) that it seems crazy to put yourself unnecessarily into a position that could kill you, but I do understand the need to have at least experienced spins and recovery.
My problem is as follows: I fly out of Jo'burg (5500ft asl) and so it is highly unlikely that you can get most training a/c above 3000ft agl to spin safely. We were spinning a C152 at about 2500ft agl.
If you can't get above a safe height, should high altitude schools still practice spinning?