Every time I dived, the inflator hose was dangling behind my back and I had to reach behind to grab a hold of it. There was nothing in the harness that would secure the hose up front. I was shown much later that you have to buy a clip and then clip the d ring in the front.
Whoever gave you this piece of advice was way off the mark, IMO. I have never heard of anybody putting a clip of any sort on their inflator. A simple loop of bungie run under the chest d-ring is enough to keep the hose close to the chest, and give you plenty of room to move the hose around to vent.
mexlin, in answer to your question, Peter starts all his private students off in backplates, and we have had no problems with the gear remove/replace skill, either in the pool or in open water. The key is properly adjusting the harness, so that it is not too tight.
We really must not conflate equipment and skill . . . a skilled diver can dive beautifully in almost anything, and the best equipment won't make a superb diver out of a novice. I didn't even write to the magazine to tell them I thought a backplate system was PREFERABLE for new divers (although I think in cold water, it is) but only to say that dismissing such a rig as unduly complicated was unfair and inaccurate.