Latest update April 11th, 2025 9:20 AM

Guyana's largest selling daily and New York's most popular weekly

Latest News

Prof. Ryan influenced polling and scholars in Guyana

Apr 06, 2022 Letters

Dear Editor,

Kaieteur News – Prof. Selwyn Ryan, who passed away in Trinidad last month at age 86, influenced generations of scholars of all stripes in Guyana, Trinidad, and around the region from the 1970s until now. He wrote on many topics including on Guyana and on African nationalism. He has left a strong legacy.

There is no other scholar like him in Guyana or the region. He was also amongst the leading pollsters in the region motivating me to conduct polls. Ryan was the most eminent influential African scholar who trained many budding academicians in Guyana and across the region. We met several times at ISER, St. Augustine campus, talking about ethnic politics in Trinidad and Guyana and opinion polling. T&T looked forward for his weekly political commentaries in the newspaper going back to the 1970s, and his opinion polls relating to elections. Ryan was very impressed with and praised my work as a pollster and for introducing opinion polling throughout the region.

The late Professor was a giant scholar. There is/was hardly any scholar like him at UWI, UG, or at any other academic institution in the Caribbean. Those of us who studied social sciences relating to the Caribbean would have read and cited his works in our research.

No doubt Ryan made an enormous contribution to academia and to socio-politico analyses in the twin-island republic. But what I credit Dr. Ryan for most was his introduction of polling in Trinidad. Ryan influenced pollsters like me and survey researchers in Trinidad and throughout the Anglophone Caribbean. We took our cue from him as a leading pollster in the region (apart from Carl Stone of Jamaica).

We consulted him on polling. We competed to predict the outcome of elections in Trinidad. He did not poll in Tobago where I conducted polls for every election going back to 2001.

Ryan was supportive and encouraged youngsters like me (25 years his junior) to conduct polls – the more the merrier.  Because of his pioneering work on opinion polling in Trinidad, pollsters like me pioneered polling in Guyana (introduced by Prof. Dr. Baytoram Ramharack), Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Grenada, Antigua, Barbados (Peter Wickham), and several other countries. (Carl Stone confined his polling to Jamaica and Ryan to Trinidad). We were/are able to assess popular support for political parties and candidates for office and project an outcome, allowing politicians to plan or re-orient campaign. The public in Guyana and the smaller islands have been most grateful for our reports on quantifiable support for parties or candidates.

I am most appreciative of Ryan’s work as a pollster. The region is all the more poorer without his socio-political analyses.

Yours truly,

Dr. Vishnu Bisram

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| April, 7th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Moo sponsored National Junior’s Squash C/ship eying exciting conclusion

Moo sponsored National Junior’s Squash C/ship eying exciting...

Apr 11, 2025

-Thrilling action unfolds on Day Three Kaieteur Sports- The courts at the National Racquet Centre (NRC) were once again buzzing with intensity on Wednesday as Day Three of Moo’s National Junior...
Read More
BK Group remains supportive of Bartica Easter Regatta

BK Group remains supportive of Bartica Easter...

Apr 11, 2025

GFF-Blue Water Shipping National U15 Secondary School Girl’s Football C/ship officially launched

GFF-Blue Water Shipping National U15 Secondary...

Apr 11, 2025

Elite League action returns to NTC this weekend

Elite League action returns to NTC this weekend

Apr 11, 2025

Two more young cricketers benefit from Project “Cricket Gear for young and promising cricketers in Guyana”

Two more young cricketers benefit from Project...

Apr 10, 2025

NSC receives sports uniforms from D8Door & Hardware Inc.

NSC receives sports uniforms from D8Door &...

Apr 10, 2025

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.

Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]