** Jefferies upgrades IDP Education IEL.AX driven by recovery in the U.K. market and promising performance in China

** Sees signs of recovery in the UK student visa numbers after a period of decline, to positively impact the education counsellor's business

** Brokerage upgrades stock to a "Hold" rating, assigns a PT of A$11.8

** Jefferies highlights co's China IELTS initiative, an English proficiency test, as outperforming expectations and potentially boosting revenue

** Flags firm's plans to diversify in Spain, Germany, others, to have a short-term impact and expects it to be not significant

** Despite policy challenges, the brokerage sees IEL's stock finding support around A$10/share

** Shares of co so far this year are down 40.9% as of the last close

(Reporting by Kumar Tanishk in Bengaluru; Editing by Chris Reese)

((Tanishk.Kumar@thomsonreuters.com;))