If a firefighter, an emergency medical services personnel as defined under section 23-27-04.3, or a peace officer dies as a direct result of injuries received while engaged in the performance of official duties under circumstances dangerous to human life, the survivor, upon being duly accepted for enrollment into any undergraduate degree or certificate program of a     North Dakota state institution of higher education, must be allowed to obtain a bachelor’s degree or certificate of completion, for so long as the dependent is eligible, free of any tuition and fee charges; provided, however, that the bachelor’s degree or certificate of completion is earned within a forty-five-month or ten-semester period or its equivalent; and further provided that tuition and fee charges may not include costs for aviation flight charges or expenses.