The Pretoria High Court has interdicted Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande from placing Unisa under administration.
The court ruling was made on Friday morning following an urgent application by Unisa.
Nzimande was due to announce a decision on the fate of the institution on Friday.
The minister had previously issued a notice to place Unisa under administration following a damning assessment report by Professor Themba Mosia.
Mosia found that there were several incidents of mismanagement, financial irregularities and poor student services at the institution.