BEIJING - Chinese learner drivers will be offered more flexibility in taking lessons and tests under government plans to streamline the system.

Currently, learners are required to take courses at driving schools before sitting theory and practical tests. They have to pay for the courses up front, and the schedule for lessons and exams is decided by the schools, most of which are in inconveniently remote locations.

In changes to be made before 2018, learners will only to have to pay after the courses and they will be offered choices on when and where to take the tests, said Liu Zhao, head of the Traffic Management Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), on Thursday.

The MPS will nominate a number of pilot cities where learner drivers will be able to take tests without going through the courses, Liu said.

The official also said visually impaired learners will be required to take standardized eye tests, and that schools will be punished for fraud.

China has more than 320 million licensed drivers, with the number growing by 30 million every year.